Revelations
by byejlbye
Summary: Sequel to Collision, we find out the truth about Harry as we follow Hermione through her seventh year Disregard Book Seven
1. Where Do I Begin

I'm Hermione Granger. You'd think that my last year of school would suck, what with Dumbledore being dead, helping Harry find all the Horcruxes, and Ron following me around like a lost puppy. Oh, yes and Draco Malfoy being Head Boy next to my Head Girl. But in all actuality, my Seventh year had been amazing. I guess you would like to know why right?

Well I've found out a lot of things about myself, my friends, and my 'enemies', and I fell in love. No, not with Ron. People seem to think that I am, or was or something. I never have been, never will be. Not that there's anything wrong with being in love with Ron, but I just found a man that was much better for me. Is much better I mean, he's still living.

Everything that has happened to me in this short period of time has been utterly devastating and yet, absolutely amazing. I lost my friends for a while, but I also found new ones. I lost my family for a little bit but I gained another. And no, I did not join the Dark side; Voldemort would have killed me in a moment. But this year has been so topsy-turvy. And compared to my other years, this was quite a feat to accomplish.

I still wouldn't trade it for anything. Graduation is in tomorrow, Voldemort's still out there somewhere, and I'm writing in a diary.

Harry still has to find the final Horcrux but I think I know where it is, generally speaking. I still have to narrow it down, but I can't seem to do it. I still must tell Harry where it is, though. I don't want to do it until after we graduate. I just hope to Merlin that Voldemort waits until after graduation to attack. That would be best.

The man I love gave me this, he says, "Because you need something to hold all of your thoughts in." Of course, I don't think I'll write my thoughts in here, because frankly, I don't want anyone bad to find it.

So I'm going to begin telling you my Seventh Year story. Surely, writing my memories is a good thing right? Everything I learned in my Seventh Year is not widely known, thank Merlin, but I suppose writing it in my private journal will be safe.

I know I said that I don't want to write my thoughts down in it because a bad person might find it, but writing the past down won't matter in the slightest.

Why? Well, Voldemort already knows all of it. I just can't let him know the present because then he would know that we're onto him, know that we only have one Horcrux left before Himself. Snape found out the location of one the Horcruxes. He told Harry after he barely escaped alive. Snape is at Headquarters now, being nursed back to health by some girl named Maria. Apparently they went to school together way back when with Sirius and the Potters, and Remus and Peter and, wait, no, that can wait. You'll find that out in my retelling.

I shall start my story telling tomorrow before graduation.

"Granger?"

"Malfoy? You're Head Boy? Oh, Merlin what did I do?"

"What did you do? What did I do? I get stuck with the Know-it-all, little miss golden girl, not to mention your stupid little Potty and Weasel."

"They are not mine!"

"So you're theirs? Well, doesn't that sound a little bad for you? Maybe even a little slutty."

"You stupid jerk, I don't belong to anyone, nor does anyone belong to me. I'm not like your ugly Pansy, though I hope you figured that one out already."

"Of course, I figure you're not nearly as good in bed as she is." He shrugged his shoulders as he sat down in a seat, leaning heavily against the back support. Her anger and confusion at the stupid topic before vanished instantly, her caring nature taking over.

"Are you ok?" his head whipped around from the cool window to see her still red with anger. He watched her cool down, literally, before he answered, "Fine Granger, don't bother me again. I have a headache."

"How can you be fine and have a headache at the same time Malfoy?" she asked, her voice lowering slightly as she sighed. He glared at her, "Because you're giving me a headache. I was fine before." Then he turned away from her again and stared out the window. She took the seat across from him and looked out the window herself. She didn't find nearly as interesting as he seemed to.

Nearly an hour later, when she was still trying to figure out what was interesting to him as she 'read' her book he said softly, "I've never looked out the window before on the train. Always too busy trying to keep Crabbe and Goyle straight."

"What's so interesting about the land?" she asked, now even more confused. Shaking his head as he looked at her, he chuckled. She found herself entranced by it. She had never heard a decent sound from him, and here he was, chuckling softly at her ignorance. Her ignorance at what, she still couldn't figure out.

"Granger, the world is our land. It gives us life, it gives us protection, it bears our mistakes, our treasures, our bodies, and our souls. It gives us more than we could ever ask for and we treat it as though it's gum on the bottom of our shoes. We should spend some time appreciating not only what it gives us, but the simple beauty of the Earth itself." With that deep insight, he turned back to the window to watch the rolling landscape that surrounded their trip.

She couldn't help but think,_ This is going to be an interesting year._


	2. Sleepless Night

"I'm telling you Ginny, he was all nice and decent. He was looking at the land because no one ever appreciates it, and it deserves it! I'm not lying, I swear!"

"Are you sure we're talking about the same Malfoy here, Hermione? I'm not sure we are. Yours must have fallen out of a parallel dimension or something. The Real Malfoy would never say something like that."

"Or maybe the Real Malfoy has been hiding all along. I mean, given all the facts, he probably is a little mean and cold hearted, but he does have a good side."

"Yin and Yang, Hermione. You can't be all one or the other; you share a little bit of the other in you. We all have bad in us just like he has some good in him, somewhere. But that doesn't mean anything."

"So Voldemort had some good in him somewhere?" Hermione said without thinking as she hugged her dark golden pillow to her chest. Ginny looked at her across the room at the cherry wood desk.

"Well, I, you said that everyone has good in them and Voldemort does count as someone doesn't he? So given your argument, he has some good in him somewhere."

"I was talking about people, and no, being a person once upon a long time ago doesn't count. Voldemort is a horrid creature. No, no he is a horrid thing. He doesn't get included in any discussions about people and their, their,"

"Their natural personality?"

"Yes, that. He doesn't get included because he is not a people and he isn't even close to natural."

"I'm glad you decided that Weaselette." Ginny whipped around from the chair she was sitting in as Hermione nearly fell off her bed.

"Wh-what are you doing in here Malfoy?" she began as she crossed her arms intimidatingly soft at her chest. Ginny gave him a once over before she said, completely ignoring Hermione's question, "Glad I decided what?"

"That I'm nothing like the Dark Lord."

"Why would you think that? I mean that that was a good thing."

He scoffed at her, his arms crossed broodingly across his own chest as he leaned against the doorjamb, "You really think that I'm a Death Eater, don't you?"

"Well, yes," she answered bluntly. He nodded his head towards Hermione, motionless on her feet near her bed. Her red tank top barely covering the smooth belly underneath, her shorts showing of nearly all of her legs.

"She doesn't seem to agree. Potty, was he the one who told you all that crap? He thought I was the one who was supposed to kill Dumbledore but he had it all wrong. Nott, that bastard, was supposed to kill Dumbledore, I refused to do it you see," he stepped menacingly towards the two of them, "But Voldy, you know, he didn't like that. So to punish me, he gave Teddy Polyjuice Potion to look like me. He didn't know, of course, where I really was during that time which is why I was allowed back. Granger was the only one of you who could possibly have an inkling of the truth. And the irony is that she could think the truth because she isn't prejudiced."

He turned to look at Hermione for the first time, his eyes looking her over so deeply she thought she would scar. Before he said, "I think you might want to try something else." And he turned on his heal and walked gracefully out of her room. Ginny watched him until he closed his bedroom door with a soft _click_. Then she turned to look at her best friend.

"For a moment, I almost believed him. But he was born a liar, he'll live a liar and hell, he'll probably die a liar."

"Ginny! Don't say things like that!"

"Why not, we both know he's a Death Eater. It's a fact."

"Have you seen the Dark Mark on his arm?" Hermione prodded gently.

"Well, no. But why would Voldemort give someone else Polyjuice Potion to look like him? That's just plain stupid."

"It doesn't matter but we both know what you believe, we both know that we disagree. He hasn't been proved a Death Eater. Why would McGonagall let him back this year if she knew he was one?"

"His father, duh. He has money, power, influence in the Ministry."

"He lost pretty much all of that when he got sent Azkaban. He's only got money now and that isn't nearly enough. Especially since he's still in Azkaban and can't use his charm of sorts on people."

"I can't believe you're siding with Malfoy on this Hermione. After everything he's said and done to you, you still give him the benefit of the doubt."

"And yet I can still look at the situation objectively, with an intelligent mindset!" she instantly realized they had been shouting at each other. She stopped, silence encompassing the room. Then she sighed and whispered, "Maybe you should stay in you dorm tonight Ginny. We don't want our first night here to be too tense. And staying in the same room as someone you're mad at, well that's extremely tense." Ginny nodded and walked swiftly out of the Head's Quarters.

Hermione collapsed against her bed after closing the door quietly. Sighing she waved her wand to dim the lights. She never turned them off. Ever. The last time they had been completely off while she slept, her cat had run into the street. She had woken up without his soft purring, instantly worried. And when she went to get the paper for her father that morning when she was eight years old, she had seen him squished in the middle of the street.

The dark had haunted her ever since.

Draco lay in his bed, listening to the voices arguing next door. He tried to remember a night when his parents hadn't been fighting while he fell asleep. When they were both there of course. That had been when he was five years old. An old family friend, who happened to teach here at Hogwarts, had yelled and cursed at his father. Draco couldn't remember anyone else ever doing that. He hadn't seen this man he idolized until he came to Hogwarts. And his parents had fought every night since.

Then he couldn't hear anything, he assumed that meant they had stopped fighting. A moment later he heard the door to the portrait close. He sighed, he hadn't meant to cause them to fight: he just didn't like being put into the same category as Voldemort. He couldn't stand it. He could feel his anger boiling in his blood so he took a few deep breaths before he stood up. Pacing, wondering if he should go apologize, he rubbed his forehead. He wasn't used to this being nice to people. Sure he hated being mean to them, but being nice or kind in general was still difficult to manage.

Then he strolled out of his room, trying to let everything fall away from him as he softly rapped on the door. When she didn't answer, he cracked it open about and inch. Seeing her sleeping peacefully in the dim light, he couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. When he finally realized that he was staring, that he was smiling, he shut off the lights and quickly left. He tugged at his smile, trying to pull it off his face as he fell into a peaceful sleep himself. You couldn't feel those goofy little smiles when you were asleep.

He awoke at three to an awful scream.

Darting out of his bed he burst into her room, ready to kill. A little dramatic, he thought, for someone he could hardly stand. She was sitting up in her bed, the lights still off, reaching desperately for her wand on her bedside table. He waved his own to dim the lights.

"Bloody hell, Granger!"

"Malfoy! What are you doing in here?" she asked as she pulled her comforter to her shoulders.

"You were screaming, what did you expect me to do, laugh?" he looked angry, but not at her. She couldn't figure out why he would be angry at himself, but she honestly didn't care: she just wanted that dream out of her mind.

She had been working with Harry to find to Horcruxes and when she turned around for only a moment, he was screaming and tumbling into the dark depths of the water below. She could hear his cries of agony as she felt hands pulling at her.

She shivered as it replayed most graphically in her head.

"Cold?" she looked up at his questioning gaze. She shook her head as she pulled the covers tighter around her body.

"Right, so would you tell me _why_ you were screaming?"

"Nightmare." Her clipped words angered him, even as she shivered yet again. Rolling his eyes he walked out and flicked the lights off. He hadn't even taken two steps and they were on again.

"What the-?" he flicked them off again and a moment later they flickered on again.

"Something's wrong with your light granger," he said as he turned to look at her. She was sound asleep somehow. Rolling his eyes again he took out his wand and cast a darkening spell on the lights, so as to help her sleep better.

Too bad that didn't work. He was in there not even an hour later, turning the lights on yet again.

"How many nightmares do you have Granger? Should I just get used to you screaming every night?" he paused as he played back his words in his head, "From the nightmares," he corrected. She looked up at him confused.

Then she said, "I don't know why I'm getting them ok? I haven't had them since I was nine. I mean, it doesn't make sense." He looked thoughtful before moving to perch on the end of her bed. He had an almost angry confused look as he watched his feet bring him to her bed.

"Have you done anything different today? Could it be the fight you had with Weasley?" he said as he sank down onto her bed.

"No, I've fought with her plenty before. And the changing of subjects doesn't make a difference." He moved further onto her bed so he was sitting right next to her, "and since when do you call her Weasley? I thought she was Weaselette."

"Only when I'm in her proximity or in those of people who like me calling her that," he shrugged his shoulders, "Same with everyone else."

"Oh. I can't figure it out, but thank you for trying, Malfoy," he flinched visibly at her words. She glanced at the clock, nearly five in the morning, "Oh, Merlin, you need some sleep. Goodness, I can see the bags already forming underneath your eyes. Here, let me," she waved her wand and a potion appeared on her bedside table. She reached out to grab it only to have his hand shoot out and grab her wrist.

"Why the bloody hell do you have that?" he said angrily as he nodded towards the potion.

"Why wouldn't I? I am the best in our year at potions and I keep stores of all the ones we make. When everyone else vanishes them, I just move it to a few different vials or something larger to hold it. The potions are good to have around and the professor never said we couldn't do it."

"So you keep the extras? That does not sound like little-miss-goody-two-shoes-Granger. Even I don't do that."

"Well it's not like I have time to make them elsewhere," she muttered under her breath. But he was so close she could have just lipped the words and he would have heard.

"Why would you need a Sleep Deprivation Cure? We made that last year, near the end and your nearly empty." he paused and then he whispered, "Potter's got you doing something dangerous, doesn't he?"

His grip was starting to hurt as she felt her hand become numb, "Yes, yes, can you let go of my hand?" she nearly cried the end. Instantly he dropped her hand. He watched her curl it against her chest, could see the red marks he left around it. Hating himself for hurting her when she really hadn't done anything wrong, he did something he never thought he would do, for anyone. Especially for a Mudblood. No, not a Mudblood. The only Mudbloods we those who believed they were better for their purity.

He reached out to grab her hand again and she watched, helpless to stop him. And then she felt his soft, warm lips press gently against her marred skin.


	3. Fight Outta You

He looked up into her eyes, saw the surprise he was feeling, and gently let her hand go. Then he had an idea, "Granger, are you afraid of the dark?"

"Wh-what?" her eyes were still a little dazed and very glazed over.

"Are you afraid of the dark?" the sun was just peaking over the horizon; he could see it through her window.

"Well, no."

"But?" he could hear some hesitation in her voice.

"I can't sleep in the dark. Well, unless I'm outside." For some reason she seemed to be in pain. He left it for another day. Nodding, he jerked off her bed, saying, "I'm going to take a shower. And as much as I disapprove, I think I might take a sip of that potion you have there." And then he walked out of her room, his body keeping that graceful step that only he had perfected enough to be his.

She mentally smacked herself for thinking that, this was Draco Malfoy, a boy, no a man, she detested. A man who couldn't spend two minutes around her without calling her a Mudblood.

But he hadn't called her one at all on the train, nor after dinner, nor this morning, either time he had awaken to her screams. When he had rushed in to see that she was alright, he had rushed in because he cared.

No, he had come in because her screams were annoying. Very annoying. She sighed as she heard the shower start next to her bedroom. They had to share a bathroom and a common room. Thank Merlin they didn't have to share a bedroom.

She sighed again before she roused herself and began preparing for the day ahead of her. She took a swig from the bottle beside her, feeling like an alcoholic, before she gathered her robes and underclothes for the day.

Nearly twenty minutes later, she found herself knocking at his door.

Draco heard her soft knock and called softly, "Come in," as he was scrounging for his undershirt for the day.

"I brought you the-" she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw his sculpted chest, slightly tanned, superbly defined.

"Yes?" he asked as he opened his shirt in front of himself. Pulling it over his head, he couldn't help but appreciate her reaction. As long as he took it in a good way. She seemed to regain her voice when his shirt was hanging on his body delicately.

"I brought you the potion. You said you wanted some," she said as he rearranged his shirt. He stepped towards her, nodding to the bedside table she was standing next to.

"Just leave it there." He wasn't going to tell her she wasn't gong to get it back.

"Why is your room so different from mine? I mean the way it's arranged."

"I didn't like it the way it was so I changed it." he shrugged as she looked at him astonished.

"You reorganized your room? Are you even allowed to do that?"

"I don't know. I really don't care much either. But could you get out now? I would like to finish changing."

Her cheeks flared red as she stuttered, "Well, yes, yes, of course. I'll just- I'll just go," And walked swiftly out of the room. She heard his beautiful laugh a moment later.

No, no it wasn't beautiful. It was just a soft chiming, giving her a sort of tingling in her ears as she heard it. No it wouldn't do for her to have those sorts of thoughts run through her head.

_(A few weeks later)_

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yeah Professor?" he replied as the bell rang over their heads.

"Can you stay after class?"

Draco looked around his emptying Ancient Runes class, "Yeah, sure." He watched Hermione hesitate at the door.

"Yes Miss Granger?"

"Um, well Professor, I had a question about the assignment last night. But um, I can always come back later."

"No, no not at all. Which two were you having difficulty with?" Draco wanted to laugh at the way she paused when he said 'difficulty' as if it were some sort of curse word.

"Well, life and happiness look nearly the same. It doesn't really make sense to me since, well they aren't really the same thing."

Professor Vance laughed before saying, "Life has a small little hook in the left corner. I think the point they were trying to make, who ever created it, was that life is full of happiness, but it does have some pain. Does that help?" she seemed to being seeing everything in her mind but she nodded.

"Yes, thank you Professor."

"No problem," he glanced at his watch, "Will you make it in time for your next class?"

"Oh, I have a free period next. Have a good day." She walked out, her bag pulling her left shoulder down slightly, tipping her balance slightly.

"Draco?"

"Oh, yeah Professor?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can call me Brett when we're not around anyone else?"

"Sorry Brett."

"It's fine. You seemed to be a little preoccupied with something else." His Professor, his friend, his guide almost, grinned that knowing grin at him.

"But anyways, I wanted to start you on what will begin working on next week. Turing the Runes into spells. Since we've spent the last few weeks reviewing, I assume you'll remember the meaning of them. What I want you to do is wave your wand to the right twice for sleep and twice to the left for wakening."

"Are they nonverbal?"

"Yes. I want you to help me demonstrate next week and to help them practice it."

"Of course, Brett."

"And if Miss Granger asks, tell her it's a special project."

A grin spread wide across his face, "Can do. See you later Brett."

"Goodbye Draco."

Draco nearly raced out of the classroom back to his dorms where he knew Granger was already hard at work. Smiling he slipped through the portrait only to hear her frustrated sigh.

"Something troubling you Granger?"

"Yes! And I really can't stand it, I mean, never, NEVER, have I had trouble in Ancient Runes but now it's like I've just got this block in my head. Nothing is coming back to me unless its all jumbled and messed up and I just, UGH!"

She seemed to be pulling out her hair with both hands, without actually pulling out her hair.

"Would you like some help?"

"NO! Goodness, no. But thank you for the offer Malfoy. I'm not good with getting help. Not good at all." In the distance they heard the bell signaling the start of class and suddenly she jumped from her seat, "Merlin, what day is today?"

"Well, I'm not Merlin but today is the 29th. Why?"

"Oh don't be smart with me, 'I'm not Merlin', we have that meeting with McGonagall now. Let's go."

She grabbed his wrist and whipped him around to the portrait and dragged him behind her. He was thankful he could no longer see the bruise he had left on her wrist.

"Granger! I can walk myself you know."

"Of course, of course. I'm just out of it this week. I don't really know why, I just am."

"Potter got you doing something again hasn't he? Maybe I should have a talk with him." She gently shoved his shoulder. They had grown into some strange relationship over the past few weeks where this sort of light banter could occur and yet they still couldn't seem to find it in themselves to call each other by their first names. Of course, this odd relationship seemed only to exist when it was just the two of them.

"Sure, if you could get in a word before he cursed you into oblivion."

"Ol' Potty couldn't hurt a hair on my sweet little head."

"Sweet and little?" she scoffed as he assumed an arrogant aura. They both burst into laughter as Harry turned the corner.

"Hermione? What is going on here? Laughing with Malfoy? MALFOY! I didn't want to believe Ginny. But she was right wasn't she? Merlin, have you been telling him everything we've been doing? You have haven't you?"

"Harry-"

"Doing? I knew you were making her do something. Bloody hell, have you not seen that whatever the hell you're making her do is having a huge effect on her? Merlin Potter, do you ever pay attention to anything?"

"Having him pretend that he doesn't know anything isn't going to make me think he isn't. You're-you're fraternizing with the enemy!"

"Harry! We aren't in Fourth Year anymore, Malfoy is not Victor, and you aren't playing some stupid tournament anymore. We're seventeen, and this isn't some stupid game about which school do you go to, or what house you're in! We've got to choose which side we're on and not hate people just because we're prejudiced against them and their past, and think that everything they have any influence on is horrible.

"That's not the way it is Harry. Malfoy isn't working for Voldemort and he was only thinking I was helping you with something until you blurted out to him that I was. And I can laugh with whomever I want to laugh with, Harry. You don't get to choose my... my-" in all her rage she couldn't seem to find a name for her relationship with Malfoy,

"How about the people I talk with. Granger?"

"Yes, thank you Malfoy. Harry, I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions. I'm Hermione Granger, 'the smartest witch in our year'; you said that to Slughorn, so I'm smart enough to make good decisions. Please Harry," she moved forward to touch his arm. He flinched back from her and said in an angry voice, "He's Malfoy, Hermione. I can't believe you'd pick him over all of your friends."

"I haven't picked anyone Potter! And don't think of calling yourselves my friend if you can't handle the other people I might call friends. Especially since I'm never quite sure if I really am your friend. I mean all you do is use me for things you can't do yourself, for figuring out everything while you're off screwing someone else over and saying something like they were the ones who screwed you over.

"You know what Harry, since you're so damn angry with my choice of friends and you won't talk to me until I'm rid of him, then, you know what?"

"What?" he asked in a suddenly shaking voice. He had never heard her this angry before, never heard her swear before.

"I guess we're never going to talk again and you'll have to find someone else to figure out everything for you because I'm done dealing with you and your crap."

Draco felt her clench his wrist in her hand and pull him off towards McGonagall's office again. When he looked back at Potter, he saw the boy standing there, seething and frozen in astonishment. He felt bad for the boy, sure, but he was more infuriated with his stupidity and audacity.


	4. You'll Find Out

"Bloody hell, Granger! I didn't think you had it in you. Any sort of cursing. And at Potter, well, I just, I never expected that one. Didn't even see it coming. Like when a deer jumps out in front of one of those Muggle contraptions. Cans? Capes? No, no what are those things called? With the wheel and the pedals and all those sorts of things?"

"Cars?"

"Yes, yes those things!"

"Why are you so hyped up Malfoy? So I cursed, I yelled at my best friend, and I stuck up for the man whose been pretty horrible to me over these years? You know what? I really don't care in the slightest. We have to meet McGonagall right now anyways."

"I still can't believe it Granger. I really can't."

"Can't believe what about Miss Granger, Malfoy?" he whipped around upon hearing his Headmistress' voice.

"Oh, I really can't believe that she likes tuna. Personally I'm not all that big a fan of any sort of fish. What about you, Professor?"

"My preferences are really not important. I assume you were on your way to meet me for the meeting?"

"What else would we be meeting you for ma'am?"

"Don't get smart with me Malfoy." Hermione looked over at the man she had considered her enemy for the greater part of six years. What in the world had changed so that he now seemed so free and fun loving? And since when was he so, so smart alec-y around the professors? He was usually sucking up to them and trying to get away with practically anything and yet here he was, lying and nearly making fun of the Headmistress to her face.

It just didn't make any sense at all, that was for sure.

"Miss Granger?"

"Oh! Yes Professor?" she said as she was startled out of her thoughts as they sat in McGonagall's office.

"There is something very important I want to ask the both of you." she paused as Draco leaned forward in his seat, arms on his knees, eyes intent.

"There are some old students of mine that I have been searching out. You see, they were in the Order before and I have been seeking them because they were the best of their year. The best in the Order nearly, but after Sirius Black was arrested for well, you know. After he was arrested, we found that the only remaining person of this skilled group was Remus Lupin. James and Lily Potter had been killed, we believed that Peter Pettigrew was killed, the woman Sirius was to marry up and disappeared, and their friends from the States. Well, the woman died during childbirth, and the poor man took it so hard, especially since the child didn't survive either."

"Excuse me, ma'am."

"What?"

"What exactly does this have to do with anything? I mean I figure that these two people, Black's fiancé and the other guy, are the ones you're trying to find. But of what significance is that to us?"

"I'm getting there. I'm still searching for the two of them. They always were extremely good at disappearing. Well before all the bad things happened, they were part of the Order. They were nearly spies, without actually being spies. The man,"

"How about some names, Professor?"

"The man, let's call him John,"

"Why not use his real name?"

"Maybe, eventually you'll understand that part. John and his wife were friends, of a sort, with your parents, Draco."

"Wait, what? They had friends that were part of the Order? That's not possible. I mean, they only talked to people in His circle after He came back."

"Well, John's wife was friends with your father's sister. When she died your father and Johns' wife grew some bond that we could never quite figure out."

"My father had a sister? How come I've never heard of her?"

"That, I do not know. Her death was hushed up as well as her relation to your family when she was killed."

"She was murdered? Well that explains it," he sighed as he sat back in his chair.

"Mr. Malfoy! Will you hold your tongue for five minutes? I must explain this to you." When he nodded she continued.

"Well, while I'm searching for John and the woman, we'll call her Jane, I have something very important for you two to do. I trust you the most." She didn't elaborate as to why, not wanting to share too much, they assumed.

"I'm going to trust you two to keep the school safe. I'm going to be leaving the Grounds frequently and I need someone to make sure the school runs accordingly. Yes, yes I could ask the teachers but then they would require an explanation and that I just can't give. Severus atleast would know whom I'm searching for, if he found out I was searching for anyone, and I can't let that happen. I need to keep them, well, atleast try to protect them anyways."

"So what are you going to tell them then? Because obviously they're going to notice your frequent absences."

"Mr. Malfoy, I need them to believe I'm assisting Mr. Potter in his search."

"What search? Is that what he's been having you help him with Granger? Why does everyone but me know what is going on?"

McGonagall turned swiftly to face Hermione, her eyes confused, "You haven't told him?"

"Of course not! No one is supposed to know but a select few. I'm not ruining anything we could have going for us just so I can tell someone I don't even trust all that much!"

"So that means you haven't told her then, have you Mr. Malfoy?"

He shook his head as he looked down at the floor beneath his chair.

"Well then, now that I have entrusted you with my secrets, I should hope you will entrust each other with your own. She must know, Draco, if you are to ever gain her trust and he must know Hermione so that he can help."

She waved her hand in a dismissal movement. They nearly stumbled out of the door at the abrupt ending of their information packed meeting.

"So what search are you heading with Potter?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me why I should trust you with that sort of top secret information that only," she paused for a moment, "Eight other people in the whole of England, no the entire world, know about!"

"Fine. Well, I suppose that this also explains why all the teachers trust me, sort of, and how they know it wasn't me up there who was supposed to kill Dumbledore. I was with McGonagall. I was telling her everything I know about the Dark Lord, which mind you isn't all that much. All I wanted was for her to know that I was never part of his circle. Father tried to get me in, and I couldn't do it. The initiation, you see, is to kill someone. And just because I'm my father's son, doesn't mean I'm my father's son. Does that make sense?"

"Not in any way shape or form."

"Ok, just because he is my father, doesn't mean I'm going to be like him, doesn't mean I'm going to follow in his footsteps. Does it make sense now?"  
"Yes. Sort of. But anyways, continue." She waved her hand as she spoke.

"I couldn't kill the Muggle that I was ordered to kill, I couldn't kill the Muggle-born, hell, I couldn't even kill the damn cat."

"Since when have you called us Muggle-borns? It's always been Mudblood this, Mudblood that!"

"Since I'm no longer living with my father. Every thing I did and said was because he told me to." He shook his head as he looked down at the ground beneath his feet, "I was too scared to do what I wanted to do, too willing to please him, too obedient. Until I wouldn't kill anything. Then he tried to get me to _Crucio_ something. Couldn't do that either. So finally he brought me before the Dark Lord. He is one scary thing, let me tell you!"

"I don't want to hear that. Harry's told me a million times already."

"Oh, well I was standing there. Apparently he thought that if the Dark Lord told me to do it I would. Or I'd be scared into doing it at the very least. He didn't expect my continued defiance. Well the Dark Lord,"

"Just call him Voldemort already. Calling him the Dark Lord makes it seem as though you really are a Death Eater, because well, we've only ever heard Death Eaters call him that."

He was staring wide eyed at her, as if she were some lunatic.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. Dumbledore told me that."

"Fine," he gulped be fore continuing, "Voldemort decided to take it out on my father. Crucioed him I don't know how many times. This was at the end of fifth year.

"Then Voldemort, he decided to 'put me to the test' see if I really would do what he told me to, given the right motivation. So we planned everything out. How to kill Dumbledore, where to do it, how to get everyone into the castle. And I did, I fixed that cabinet. I made it so everyone could get in. But I was talking to McGonagall when they came through. If anyone had seen them, they saw Nott, already in his polyjuice potion of me. I had told them I would do it, I could do it. Only, I told them, only if someone posed as me in the beginning. I would be waiting, I told them, at the tower.

"But I couldn't do it. I sent the message to Snape, and went to tell McGonagall. I was still talking to her when we heard the fighting. I would have helped, I really would have. But she locked me in her office and I couldn't break the lock." They were approaching their dorms now and she was so captivated by his story that when he stopped, she nearly kept on walking.

He taped the bricks that opened the doorway before punching in the little extra security pad he had asked McGonagall if he could install.

"Anyways, it felt like hours before she came back, told me Dumbledore was dead and apparently Snape had killed him. And went on with the whole story. Honestly, I was devastated. He was the only one who could have stopped Voldemort from taking the school. I'm really surprised he hasn't yet. But maybe he's still convinced that because the cabinet was destroyed he has no possible way in, that this place is still a fortress."

"It is, Malfoy. We've found new defense spells and this one that the ministry was working on, well, we've got that protecting us now."

"Oh."

"Is that the end of your story?" she asked as she set her things on the table.

"Besides telling you that I am now a part of the Order, yeah. That's it. Your turn."

She sighed and he smiled gently at her. Then he waved his wand and two bottles came flying from his room. One landed in front of her.

"Alright. Do you know what Horcruxes are?"  
"Yeah," he lifted the bottle to his mouth and she watched a small sip slide into his mouth.

"We've been looking for Voldemort's."

"How did you find out about those?" he exclaimed as he shot forward in his chair.

"How did _you_ know about them?" she said, completely intrigued.

"So that's what Potter's been having you search for," he whispered, and she knew he was speaking to himself as she answered, "Yes."

"Dammit! Granger, you can't keep looking for those damn things!"

"Why not Malfoy? I don't even understand how you now about them, you better explain that first." She threw herself back in her chair.

"He told me where they are."


	5. Figured You Out

"Why the hell would he tell you where they are Malfoy? I mean, oh Merlin, you know where they are. You know where they are!"  
He had watched as anger became surprise became excitement. Only one problem, he didn't know _what_ they were.

"Um, Granger."

"Oh, we have to tell McGonagall and Harry, and Ginny, and Ron. Malfoy, why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"Granger, aren't you fighting with atleast two of them at this moment? Weasly is still mad at you for saying nice things about me at the beginning of the year and Potter's mad at you for well, being nice to me and probably yelling at him too."

"This is more important than a stupid little fight. Besides, we'd get over it eventually. I mean, really, they'll understand eventually."

"Granger, fine you want to know why you can't tell them?"

"Why can't I tell them Malfoy?"  
"Because I don't know specifics!"

"You… don't know… specifics?"

"Yes! Look, when I turned sixteen I received three letters. The other two don't matter but apparently Voldemort saw me as his next in command when I was a baby. He wrote me a letter that tells me," he waved his wand and the letter came flying from his room, "'I have placed six Horcruxes around the world. One on each major continent, two here in Europe . I may tell you exactly where they lay someday but as of this moment I cannot risk that someone shall discover this.' And he goes on with a boat load of unimportant crap. Well unimportant to this particular conversation. I don't know how he can put four Horcruxes on five continents. That doesn't seem possible."

"Malfoy, there are six other continents, not five."

"I'm not that dumb Granger, I've already ruled out Antarctica . It is in no way a major continent simply because nothing is there. And besides that, how would he remember where he put it since its all white down there?"

"Good thinking. Maybe he considers the America 's one continent?"

Draco shook his head as he looked down at the table, "No, no. I know he had one in the States which covers North America and I know there was one in South America somewhere. Took a trip there when he was younger, at some rocky place.

"I know that three have been discovered, I don't know if all of them have been destroyed. The one in the States was his diary. Kept it at the Library of Congress according to my father. Before He told my father to keep it safe. So I know that that one's gone.

"The one in South America was a necklace that I know Potter and Dumbledore discovered. I heard about it from McGonagall. She seemed to think that they got the wrong one so that means someone else found it.

"Then the ring that Dumbledore found at the house Voldemort destroyed. The one that he put on and Snape had to help save him. Before he convinced Snape to kill him since the ring was still killing him, only doing it much more slowly."

"So, Malfoy, that means that there are three left, one here in Europe . The other two are either in Asia ,"

"One has to be in Asia . That's a given."

"Ok, then the third one has to be in Australia or Africa . We have to figure which one. That'll be difficult."

"I know Granger, it will be."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! Malfoy, there are _seven_ Horcruxes. That we definitely know. Two are in Europe . He's in Europe !"

"Ok," he drew the word out slowly, as if confused, "We all already knew He is here."

"No, you idiot," she exclaimed jumping out of her seat, "That means that _He_ is the second one! And if He's the second one that means really that Antarctica is the only one without a Horcrux."

"Granger," he said slowly as he stood next to her, "You are a genius!" and he threw his arms around her in a suffocating hug.

Gasping for breath, she hugged him back and slightly hit his shoulder so he would let her go.

"Sorry."

"I'm fine, fine. Malfoy we have to go tell Harry now. Then all he has to do is,"

"Scour every continent in search of a possibly miniscule object? I don't think so Granger."

"Ok then Mr. Know-It-All, tell me what we _are_ going to do!" she threw her hands into the air, exasperated.

"We research, you're good at that aren't you?" she gave him a death glare as she threw herself down onto her chair again.

"We research what exactly? You have to have a goal to search for, something specific. 'Researching' is not specific."

"We research the founders."

"Why would we do that? What do they have to do with Voldemort?"

"He was obsessed with them. He's the only known living descendent of Slytherin. I know that the other's descendents are either dead or no longer in England . I know a man who is the only living descendent of Gryffindor and Slytherin since his brother's died without kids. His wife was a descendent of Ravenclaw I believe. She's not the only one since her brother had a son before he was killed along with all her other relations. Besides her nephew."

"I thought you just said that Voldemort was the only living descendent of Slytherin?"

"I said only _known_ Granger. My friend, few people know he isn't who he's pretending to be. To everyone else, he's dead, been dead for years. He disappeared after his wife died and no one has seen him since, and known who he really is. My parents and I did but now it's just me."

"How do your parents no longer know?"

"They think he's dead as well. He and my father got into an argument when I was five and he left. I've only reconnected with him a few years ago. But the Hufflepuffs died out, I think my father said, nearly fifty years ago. One was killed by her elf and the rest, they were all really old, and they died of old age. And since she didn't have any kids, there was no one left to carry on the bloodline."

"How does all this knowledge about their bloodlines help us?"

"Because, Granger, he was obsessed with having something from each family. He had the locket from Slytherin. But then he wanted something from the other three. He probably thought that the families would have kept something. We can safely assume he has Hufflepuff's cup."

"Why?"

"A house elf killing her master? You've got to be kidding me Granger. Aren't you all about house elves? They couldn't kill their master. Dobby couldn't kill any of us and he wanted out desperately."

"Fine, fine. How do you know all of this anyways?"

"I've spent most of my down time researching this since I got the letters. First Hogmeade trip of Fifth Year, so I had a lot of time at my house library. Since it was way before I had to start repairing the cabinet."

"I thought you said you got it on your 16th birthday."

"Yes. I turn sixteen during that first trip of Fifth Year. But anyways. We still need to find out what Ravenclaw had and Gryffindor. That their families kept. I know Gryffindor had the sword but only a True Gryffindor could pull out of that hat, blah, blah, blah."

"How did you know about that?"

"Granger, I know about a lot more of the things that go on here than pretty much anyone else. Even the gossip queens."

"Oh. Do you realize how peculiar that sounds?"  
"Do you realize how peculiar 'peculiar' sounds?" she laughed before saying, "Fine, do you realize how _strange_ that sounds? Is that better?"

"Much better. And yes I do. But the difference is: they just want to know everything that goes on here. I _need_ to know everything."

"Because that makes any sense. But what ever. Do you have any idea what they might have?"

"None whatsoever."

The next few days were spent searching for something, _anything_, that could have been left behind by any of the founders. But they couldn't find anything. When they entered Ancient Runes, both were still looking for a clue.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes Professor?"

"Would you help me demonstrate?"

"Oh, yeah sure." He grabbed his wand and waltzed up to the front of the room. Hermione wanted to laugh as she thought the word. No man should waltz unless on the dance floor, in her opinion.

Draco stood in the front of the class room, having only prepared for this during his free period before this class and lunch. He thought he was ready.

"I need a volunteer, Miss Bergin?"  
"Sure Professor."

"Okay, so I will put Miss Bergin to sleep and Mr. Malfoy will awaken her."

He waved his wand twice to the right as he pictured the rune in his mind. The girl slumped in her chair, a soft snore emitting from her.

"Alright Mr. Malfoy, wake her up." Draco tried to wake her up, thinking of the awakening charm and waving his wand twice to the left. He tried it again, focusing even harder. And again. It just didn't seem to be working.

"Um, Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Why isn't it working? I can do nonverbal spells and this," he waved his wand again, "Isn't working."

He paused for a moment, "What's on your mind?"

"Awakening?" he answered instantly.

"Well there you are, you have to think of the same Rune I thought of to undo it."

"That doesn't make any sense," he said as he finally woke his classmate.

"Does anyone have any idea as to why he had to think of the same Rune I did?"

Hermione's hand hit the ceiling and Draco had to try not to laugh at her. She had an answer to everything. Well, everything school related he corrected.

"Miss Granger?"

"Well, he is trying to reverse your spell, not cover it up. A person can only be affected by one Rune at a time. Because you were activating the Rune by waving your wand to right, he had to think of the same Rune while waving to the left."

"Why right and left? Why not up and down, or down and up, or left and right?" someone asked. Professor Vance raised his eyebrows at Hermione who had her hand in the air, yet again.

"Well, most people are right handed and such so waving to the right signifies strengthening. Since fewer people are left handed, making them the so called weaker force of people, motions to the left indicate weakening. And by weakening the Rune, you are reversing it because a weak Rune cannot hold power over an individual the way a spell can."

"Very good. Why would you use a Rune then, if it is weaker than a spell?"

"A Rune is by no means weaker than a spell. In fact Runes are usually stronger than a spell because they are ancient so they have had more time to develop the power."

"Excellent, Miss Granger. Now class, split into the pairs I have assigned," two columns of two appeared next to each other on the board, "And begin practicing the Runes."

At the end of class, Draco hung back again, and Hermione hesitated at the door.

"Was there something you needed Miss Granger?" Professor Vance asked as he held up a textbook in his hands.

"She's waiting for me. We're working on a research project together since we both have a free period next. I forgot to tell her that I was going to talk to you today."

"Oh, well then I'll just meet you at the library." As she turned to leave he called out, "No, Granger." He turned back to his Professor, "Brett, we need your help."


	6. Haunted

"My help? With what Draco?"

Hermione watched, almost fascinated as the two tuned into friends rather than Professor and student.

"Well, Brett, Granger will you just come in and shut the door?"  
"Oh, um, yes."

"You have an empty hour next right Brett?"

"Yes, but what is this? Draco, I don't understand."

"Nor do I. Malfoy, is this about the…" he nodded, "Then how can he help?"

"He's my friend." Then it dawned on her, "Ooh. Yes well then I suppose he would be very beneficial. But Malfoy, is he trustworthy?"

"Now wait a minute, Miss Granger,"

"Might as well call me Hermione."

"Fine, Hermione, why would you think I'm not trustworthy? I'm a teacher here; Dumbledore hired me himself nearly seventeen years ago!"

"She knows that you are trustworthy. What she wants to know is if you're trustworthy _enough_, and you are. He is."

"If you say so. Professor, what-"

"You call me Brett then. When we're not around other people."

"Brett, what we are about to tell you is completely secret information that less than ten living people in the whole world knows about. Draco only now knows because I was asked to share this information with him."

"Does this have anything to do with Harry Potter?"

"Yes. You've noticed he has been missing every now and again? I know he isn't in any of your classes or anything but from meals and such?" at his nod she continued, "He's been searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes. We know two have been destroyed. Tom Riddle's diary and his grandfather's ring. That leaves five."

"How do you know how many there are?"

"Two sources, both basically Voldemort himself. He is obviously one. So that leaves four more. We have reason to believe another has been found and destroyed, however we are still searching for the destroyer. What we need to find out now, is what each one is. We have a general idea where the final three are."

"Which is?"

"Well, basically we know one is in Asia, one is in Australia, and one is in Africa."

"So what do you need me for? How am I supposed to know what any of them are?"

"Well, we think he tried to find objects left by the founders."

"And what this had to do with me is…"

"Well, you are a descendent of Gryffindor and Slytherin and your wife was a descendent of Ravenclaw." Neither saw him freeze for a moment, nor the flash of pain that he quickly covered, "We believe that the remaining Horcruxes are something from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff's cup, and something from Gryffindor. Or another object from Slytherin."

"Another?"

"The Horcrux-,"

"Maybe we should come up with a code word or something for those so that not everyone knows what we're talking about?" Brett suggested as he finally sat in his desk chair, "What about some name that way people think we're talking about a common friend? Like Jared or something. I don't think there's anyone named Jared here."

"Fine," Hermione took a deep breath as she too finally sank into a chair, "The Jared we believe someone else destroyed was Slytherin's locket."

"You know what? I need a list. That will keep me better organized." He drew a sheet of paper from his desk as well as a pencil.

"What is that?" Draco asked confused.

"It's a pencil Malfoy. It comes with graphite inside, which is sort of like ink. All you have to do is sharpen it every now and again and you're set for a while. What are you doing?"

"I'm renaming the Jareds incase any prying eye happens to stumble across my list. You have Raisins for the ring, Lapels for the locket, Vegetables for Voldemort, Desk for the diary, Green Soap for the Gryffindor-Slytherin object, Roses for the Ravenclaw object, and Huge Cage for Hufflepuff's Cup. And then we check off found when we find them and bought when we destroy them. Easy as pie."

"Bought?"

"Yes Draco, like it's some strange shopping list I have. Although why I would be so specific about a cage and soap is beyond my own knowledge, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Let me check these off and we can continue." There was a moment or two of silence before he looked back up at Hermione expectantly.

"So now that you've made you check list, can you help us discover what these last three items may be?"

"Well, maybe you've heard of something from your family about the 'roses' or the 'green soap' or something. Maybe from your wife?" this time they both saw his brief flash of pain as he went rigid in his seat.

"What happened to your wife?" Hermione asked bluntly.

"What the bloody hell are you asking him that for?" Draco exclaimed in a whisper to her.

"No, no it's fine Draco. My wife," he looked up from the hands he had clapped on his desk, a pain so deep in his eyes that Hermione felt scarred as he looked at her, "My wife died during childbirth. Sweet baby girl. We were fighting between Annabella and Saralynn. She loved different names, just like hers. I buried them together. Never named my sweet little girl, I couldn't stand to. My wife would have made the decision in the end. She would have known who our little girl was gonna be better as. She never even took a breath of our air.

"It was so much harder with a normal death back then. Well, maybe not normal since it isn't nearly as common these past thirty years as it was a hundred years ago. But it was such a normal death that it was so much more devastating than if she had been killed in the Battle.

"Lily had Harry later that day," a sad smile crossed his face, "She was, they both were, amazing parents. James was all the fun and games and she was all the down to business. Sometimes I wonder what he would be like if James and Lily had raised him rather than those vicious people he has to call relatives."

"You knew the Potters? And you've been watching Harry?"

"Oh yes Hermione, do you think I could let that boy grow up unprotected? No way in hell was I going to let another one of us lose their kid for any reason. So I've been looking over him while he's with his excuse for a family. Let me tell you, it was extremely entertaining to see those Weasley boys flying Arthur's car to rescue him a few years back. Had to put a silencing charm on the rest of the neighborhood they were being so loud! It reminded me of Padfoot and Prongs, they would have done something like that…"

"You know Mr. Weasley?"

"Of course, we were in the Order together way back when. Molly always has been an amazing chef. When my wife was on a mission, and after she died, Molly would cook dinner for the members who were passing through."

"So are we done here? I mean if you look at the time we're probably going to be late for potions. Slughorn won't like that at all. Course he'll probably let you slide since he loves you so much." Draco flashed a small smile in her direction.

"Oh, you are going to be late." Brett exclaimed at the abrupt interruption, "Was there anything else you needed to tell me? And yes, I'll try to think of any objects from them. No, ok well I'll give Ol' Sluggy a ring. If I find something or you find something, let me know. Now, shoo, off to class with you."

"He must have really loved his wife. Did you see his eyes when you asked what happened to her? It was like all fresh and new and someone had just told him she died. I mean, that is horrible. I never knew."

"Yes, he either loved her very dearly or he's lying."

"Why would he be lying? I mean, it is his wife we're talking about."

"Or maybe it's both." She was way off in the distance, Draco could see, so when he stopped at their dormitory for their potions book, he had to grab her to stop her from continuing. When they met up a minute later he saw an idea forming in her mind. He just hoped it wouldn't hurt the man even more if she told him someday.

"What do you think about this: He is lying, but it's only because he's trying to protect her and his child. I mean think about it, there has to be some hope that they'll be together again otherwise he would have moved on by now."

"I don't know Granger. I just can't see him doing that. Well yeah the protecting them part but wouldn't he be able to protect them better if he were with them? Everyone thinks he's dead so wouldn't he have gone back to them by now?"

"You have a point Malfoy, but I really think I'm right. And if I'm not, you can kill me later."

"Granger, you have your opinions, I have mine. I think he's telling us the truth and I don't ever want to go through what he has. I would probably want to kill myself." He pushed open the doors to the dungeon chamber, and made it seem like he was in the middle of an argument with her, "You could have asked anyone but, no, you have to go ask the teacher like the little Miss Goody Goody you are!"

"Because you wrote down the homework? Merlin Malfoy, if you had written it down we wouldn't have had to go back and ask him!"  
"Well if you had written it down then you wouldn't've had to go ask him now would you?"

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss Granger, please calm down. Do not fret, Professor Vance has covered everything. You are excused. However, due to your lateness you will have to be partners in creating whichever potion you draw. The potion will take a month to make. Now pick." He held a small basket in front of the table they had 'angrily' thrown their bodies down in front of.

"Fine. Pick one Granger."

"Whatever," she said and added a set of rolling eyes to complete the effect, "The Speeding Potion? Oh, oh, that's the one that let's you go really fast in everything you do! Walking, driving, cooking cleaning! This is going to be so fun to try out!"

"_Great_, Granger. What a dumb potion. Why would you do anything like cleaning? That's what house elves are for."

"You should be a little more respectful, I hate to think about what you make them clean. It must be utterly disgusting."

"As long as it isn't anything like what you leave lying around, I'm sure they are perfectly happy."

The room was deathly silent as they watched the two Head students argue in the middle of a class they were late to.

"Alright, you two **will** get along or your grades will suffer. And you will serve detention for as long as I deem necessary. You are partners on this project and there is **no** splitting any group up. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Look, Harry, they're arguing. Like they normally do. I still don't see what you and Ginny are talking about, being friends with Malfoy, please! Hermione is so much smarter than that."

"Ron, they came into a class late, together. They are paired up. Sure they may act like they're angry but I bet they're really happy inside. They just can't let anyone know that they're friends."

"Sure, sure. I think you should just stop being so damn paranoid. Or maybe you should talk to her about it like a normal sane person, who isn't angry all the time, would do."

"Yeah sure, Ron. You're right."

"I know, I know."


	7. I'll Believe You When

"Hey Hermione..."

"Hey Ron. How is your, um," she glanced at his mound of food, "Dinner?"

"Great, great. Tastes really good. So hows being stuck with the Ferret for potions?"

"Not too bad. He has to do everything I say because he doesn't want to get into detention for as long as Slughorn 'deems necessary'" she shrugged as she placed a ham sandwich on her plate, "So I guess it'll all work out. Um, Harry can we talk later? There's something really important I need to tell you."

"Does it have anything to do with your new boyfriend?"

"My…new…boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend. So obviously this has nothing to do with someone that doesn't exist." Harry watched her sneak a glance at some Professor and he was instantly worried.

"What did you do Hermione?"

"Not much of anything that we can talk about here. But I know I did the right thing. We just have to talk after classes. Meet me near the Sir Grayson painting on the sixth floor and I'll take you to my dorm. And Ginny and Ron, you can come but I wouldn't advise it. Unless you want to see Harry kill me. We'll tell you all about it later, I promise."

"Why would we want to come to your dormitory? I mean since you and Malfoy are all cuddly now, who knows what it'll be like," Ginny added in almost viciously.

"I'm not getting _cuddly_ with Malfoy!" she grabbed her books and, leaving her food untouched, she stormed out of the hall.

They all watched Malfoy follow her out a minute later.

"Ok, maybe you were right. But I still can't believe Hermione would make nice with the Ferret! I mean she is smarter than that, isn't she?"

Harry was still watching the doors as he whispered, "She's the smartest witch in our year." He shook his head, seeming to pull himself out of his thoughts before repeating to both of them, "She's the smartest witch in our year."

"Harry, we already know that," Ginny said as she threw her hands into the air before letting them crash onto the table.

"But I think, I think we need to trust her. I'll meet her after dinner to see what she has to tell me. But we will tell you, even if it is something really dumb."

"Granger!"

"What?" she nearly yelled as she whipped around.

"It's just me. What did they do this time?"  
"Said I was getting cuddly with you. _Cuddly_! Merlin, Malfoy we are not getting into any sort of relationship such as that. We, you and I, could not have anything like that. It would just be too odd. Not that either of us would want it. But just so we're clear."

"Of course," he replied as he took some of her books from her arms, "Can I ask you a question?"  
"What?"

"Why are you getting so worked up about something so stupid? I mean if they want to think we're getting 'cuddly'" he raised the hand not holding her books motioning quotations, "Why not let them?"

"Malfoy, it's just, they're my friends. Not only do I not want them thinking that, I don't want them believing it since I wouldn't deny it. If it were true, which it isn't."

"I know it's not true."

"I know you know that."

"Then why do you keep saying it?"

"To make sure I'm clear and that we both know we'll never get cuddly with each other. But I really should stop saying it, shouldn't I?"

"Yeah. It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself."

"Well I suppose it does. Oh, I'm meeting Harry after he finishes dinner to tell him. We're meeting at the Sir Grayson portrait, and then I'm bringing him to our rooms. I want you to be there. To help me explain."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye as they approached their room. She wasn't even looking at him as she said it, as if she just assumed he would do it. Which of course he would but that was beside the point.

"Malfoy?"

"What?"

"Are you going to do it or not? Cuz if you're not going to then I would suggest staying in your room or going elsewhere because otherwise Harry will throw a fit."

"Oh, yeah. I'll totally help. I mean, it'll be hard for you to explain it yourself won't it?"

"Extremely. Thank you. I should probably go to the portrait to see if he's there. If he doesn't turn up I'll just come back."

"Ok."

"Alright Hermione, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Harry, we'll talk about it when I take you to my dormitory. It's about, well you know, those trips."

"Okay. But why couldn't you just tell me in mine and Ron's dorm? Wouldn't that have been easier?"  
"No, no, no." she shook her head as she spoke, as if to emphasize her point, "Harry we need absolute privacy. And I don't know how long this will take."  
"Fine." He didn't realize where they had been walking until she suddenly stopped. He watched with amusement as she opened the door. Too many passwords in his opinion.

"Ok, Harry, um after you."

She waved him in and he stepped through the hole in the wall, stopping nearly the moment he entered. He felt her small hands shove him into the room. He turned to glare at her.

"Hermione, you never said anything about _him_ being here. Doesn't that destroy your idea of absolute privacy?"

"No, not in the slightest Harry. I told him, everything."

"You did _WHAT_?"

"Shut up Potter. I had to pry it out of her. McGonagall made us tell each other things that we had rather not share. However we found"

"That we were actually helpful to each other. Well, rather he was helpful"

"To you."

Harry looked between them slowly before he said, "That was creepy. You should not finish each other's sentences like that." He moved slowly towards the couch across from Draco as he eyed them.

"Sorry, Harry. But since you and Ginny have been mad at me, and we shared everything, well, we've grown rather close. Especially since we've spent so much time together."

"What have you been doing together?" he asked, horrified by what she meant when she had said everything.

"Researching. To help your, extracurricular activities."

"How could you possibly do more research than what we were already doing?"  
"Well having someone help definitely adds to it, Potter. Well, atleast two people with brains." He smirked that stupid Malfoy smirk that made Harry want to reach across the table and punch him. Hermione stepped between them saying, "No, stop it you two. This is not about your stupid little feud. We need to get along, atleast when we're not in public."

"Oh, like you two already do?"

"Harry James Potter! Did you or did you not hear what I just said?"

"You might have to say it a little louder, Granger."

"MALFOY!"

"Sorry."

She sighed exasperatedly and threw her hands into the air as she fell into the seat beside Draco. Harry couldn't help but feel as if she had chosen the Ferret's side over his.

"Ok Harry. I trust Malfoy, McGonagall trusts him. You need to trust him. With his help we have a general idea of where the remaining Jareds are. And also, from-"  
"Jareds? What the bloody hell are Jareds?"  
"Oh, the name for Horcruxes. Well anyways, Malfoy has also brought in some extra help. He's a descendent of Gryffindor and Slytherin. His wife a descendent of Ravenclaw."

"I thought Voldemort was the only known living descendent of Slytherin."

"Yes, he's the only _known_ descendent Potter. My friend is dead to everyone. I don't even know his real last name. He's an old friend of my parents. And long story short, we are the only three people alive who know that he is still living among us. Everyone else either thinks he's dead or wonders where the hell he disappeared to."

"Ok. Well, where are they?"  
"We don't know yet. The three of us have been looking but we don't know yet. We do have a, general idea where they are."

"Why the pause? It's better than what we already have isn't it?"

"Well, no, not really."

"How do you mean?"  
"Well, see,"

"Merlin Granger you take forever. We know that one is in Asia, one in Africa, and one in Australia ."

"That really makes it worse. You do know that right?"  
"Yes, yes Harry we know that."

All of a sudden they heard a pounding on the wall where the door appears. They looked at each other a moment before Draco answered it.

"Hello? Oh, Brett hey. What are you doing here?"

Brett held up a book, bookmarked about halfway through, "I've found something."


	8. Back At One

"Um, who the bloody hell are you?"

"Oh, hello Harry. I'm Brett. Or Professor Vance, not that that matters but," he turned back to Draco, "I've found something." He was waved the book as if to prove to Draco he had something. He stepped into the common room briefly acknowledging Hermione as he sat on the couch opposite her.

"My wife, she loved books, and when her parents died she got all of their books. I was looking through them and I found this one. It's a diary of sorts. The guy wasn't really detailing his life, rather the life around him. He says,

"_This strange object was found as we cleaned through the attic. It looks rather like a person without their body, and their face. It was glowing some red color. Elizabeth says it was the fault of some one spilling a potion on it I disagree. It seems to have a spell upon it so that whomever touches it gets blood red eyes for the servant had blue eyes before. And now her diamonds look more like dark rubies._

"Ok, so we didn't need to hear about him fantasizing over the girl that he was probably sleeping with, but I think the bust is what we're looking for. Voldemort's eyes, I don't know how long they've been red, but they were red when I first met him."

"When did you meet him?

"Oh, nearly twenty years ago, a few months after I met James. And Padfoot and Moony and Wormtail, and you're cousin."

"My cousin?"  
"She would have been your second cousin. Although you probably would have considered her your aunt since Prongs and her were so close. Born the same day too, they were always 'Twin this' and 'Twin that' it was actually very strange. Atleast it was strange to us Americans."

"You didn't meet my parents at the same time?"  
"Oh, no not at all. See your mom was born in England , moved to America until the summer after our third year when she moved back to England and met James and his friends. She and I were great friends before she ever met the people she would consider her family more than I was. But that doesn't matter. The Jareds matter."

"Why did you name them Jareds?"  
"Oh, so no one would know what we were talking about, since they would seem like a whom rather than a what. I have a list of everything. So can we change Roses to Butter?"

"Oh yes, yes. That would be a very beneficial thing to do since, well, it must be the butter because we can't find anything else of roses."

Harry looked between them as Hermione asked if she could read the diary. Many other words were exchanged as he found himself more and more confused. He was supposed to be the one figuring all of this out, making lists, researching every thing. But here was his best friend, his enemy, and a man he hadn't known until five minutes ago. All of whom had done more to find the Horcruxes, to discover what they were, than he himself had.

And he was supposed to be the Chosen One.

"You couldn't have found it without our help anyways Harry. Just get past it and help us now." Harry turned around to the voice, only to find no one there. He glanced back at the three of them, all discussing at the table focused only on each other. He shook his head.

"Come join us Harry. We're just throwing out ideas. Trying to piece everything together."

And still, no one was saying anything to him. Almost in a zombie mode he walked to the table, sitting beside the Professor.

"Well, maybe they kept it with them. And they moved somewhere else. Only they kept it there when they sold the house or something."

"Or maybe they just sold it Granger." Malfoy waved his wand lazily and four butterbeers came flying out of his bedroom. Harry was stunned for a moment.

"Where do you keep getting these? Is it a never ending case or something?" Hermione asked with a smile on her face as she brought the bottle to her lips.

"Why would they sell it if they knew it would turn people's eyes red? Isn't that a little disturbing?"  
"Maybe they threw it out then Brett. Personally, I'm still going with the 'they sold it idea' it makes the most sense."

"But how would they hide the red glow Draco?"

"Oh, that would surely be a simple protection spell. Or a concealment charm. Either one would work, quite simply I'm afraid." Hermione answered.

"Then all we have to do is find the latest case of red eyes, right?" Harry asked.

"Well, birdbrain, it wouldn't be the latest. It would be the one before that."  
Harry watched as Hermione gently hit his shoulder, curling her feet up beside her and leaning slightly on the Ferret as she said, "Don't be a jerk Malfoy."  
"Sorry, it comes in the blood. But in case you hadn't realized Potter, Voldemort is the latest case. Whoever had it before him would have to have red eyes and…" he trailed off for a moment, sitting forward.

"Wait a minute. Potter you might be on to something."

"On to what exactly Malfoy?" Hermione asked as she too leaned forward.

He turned and looked directly at her, "If we look on Asia and Australia and Africa, we can find the person with red eyes fairly easily can't we? It can't be too common. And Voldemort, he's so screwed up he probably put his soul into it, after killing the guy, and left the butter there!"

"That makes sense Draco. Only one problem."

"Which is what? Sounded like a pretty good idea to me."

"Harry, how exactly would we find this person with red eyes? Now that they're dead, which knowing Voldemort, they are, it's even harder to find them. And the family probably sold it off or they kept it."

"But doesn't that mean that one of them has red eyes?" Draco asked as he stared at Harry in confusion. Scar Head had _agreed_ with him.  
"So I guess that means we're back to the finding the latest case of red eyes. But still, how do we do that? We can't possibly advertise. 'Searching for anyone who has red eyes all the time.' Because that would be a great ad!" Hermione fell back on the couch running her hands through her hair.

They listened to the clock chime ten.

"Dammit. Um, Hermione, do you think you could help me find my way out of here? I really wasn't paying attention on the way in."

"Sure Harry. Malfoy just meet me near the Dodson statue."

"What for?"

"We have to patrol tonight," she answered standing and rolling her eyes at him.

"Hermione, wow. You guys know a lot more than we did. I'm sorry I haven't been helping you like I should have. You were right, you usually are. I want to help you guys."

"Of course I was right. And you should help us, it would be very advantageous because you are the one who actually has to kill Voldemort."

"Do you want me to tell them or do you want to help me?"

"Which do you think would be easier? I mean they probably both hate me since they think I'm getting 'cozy' with Malfoy."

"Maybe I should just try to do it myself, you can fill in missing parts later." He wasn't going to mention that she looked like she really _was_ getting snug with Malfoy. She'd probably hit him.

"Night."  
"Goodnight Harry. I'll meet you here tomorrow a say, seven? And we can fill in the pieces for Ron and Ginny. And then we can get some more research done. With more of us, it shouldn't be that hard."

And she turned and walked away, to meet the Ferret for patrol. As much help as Malfoy had been, he was still Harry's enemy. He didn't think this would end well.

"What did Potter say?"

"Oh he's just going to fill in Ronald and Ginny. We're meeting again tomorrow around seven thirty. Well, I'm meeting them at seven so I can tell them what Harry left out. But we'll get back to our dormitory around seven thirty. Would you please let Brett know?"  
"Yeah. No problem."

"Good, good. Well goodnight Malfoy."

"Night Granger," he said softly as he watched her turn and walk towards her bedroom. He watched the light dim so much that he could barely make out her shadow beneath the small slit in the bottom of the doorway.

Sighing, he drank the last few sips of his butterbeer and moved to his own bedroom, wondering what was wrong with him. He fell onto his bed, and closed his eyes. He saw her laughing face as she curled up next to him on their couch. He'd draped his arm around her shoulders as her head leaned against his. And they'd sat there laughing about something stupid he was sure. Just twenty small minutes, close to her, and he couldn't get enough. Ever since that night, six days ago, he'd wanted to spend every moment with her. And for the third night in a row, he couldn't do it.

He fell into a fitful slumber, filled with images of her and Voldemort.

He couldn't seem to shake the feeling the next morning as he shuddered in the steaming shower, that something wasn't right. He knocked on her door when he was dressed only to hear no response. He knocked again as his heart was racing, and hearing no response, he opened the door.

"Granger?" his voice was soft and ragged, "Granger, you have to get up."  
"Mhmm," she responded groggily.

"We have class in an hour. Did you not want to shower?"  
"Mhmm," she slowly stretched her legs beneath the comforter before shooting straight up, "An hour? Merlin! Thanks Malfoy."

He nodded and walked out of her room, closing the door behind him. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go horribly, horribly wrong today.


	9. Get Out Alive

Brett woke up slowly, the way he had taught himself years ago to wake. First his arms and legs, then letting his breathing get a little faster, and once he found that nothing was threatening, he would open his eyes. Blinking slightly, he glanced at the clock, classes started in half an hour.

He showered and dressed before grabbing his normal cup of apple juice from his kitchenette. Some things, he thought, would never leave him. He walked into his classroom just as the first student was arriving.

"Good morning Professor," she said sweetly, full of morning person spirit.

"Good morning to you as well Miss Volte."

By the time the bell rang five minutes later, the room was full. The rest of the Wednesday proceeded as normal, until Draco Malfoy came in after dinner, looking the worse for wear.

"What's happened? What's wrong?" he asked as he dropped the papers he was grading and walked towards him.

"I don't know, I really don't. I woke up this morning with a bed feeling and I can't seem to shake it. I tried to tell Granger about it, really I did, but every time I tried, it just got worse and I couldn't tell her. I just don't know what to do." he threw himself into the first seat and laid his head on the desk in front of him.

"Wait, something's wrong with something to do with Hermione?" he whipped around and started rummaging through his desk hurriedly.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked as he looked up at his friend and teacher.

"I'm looking for…. Got it!" he opened a file, nearly ripping it, and ran his fingers down it. He stared at it with angry eyes for a moment before dashing out of the door, quickly followed by Draco.

"Are you going to tell me what you think is going on?"  
"No, not right now. I can't." he whipped around and grabbed Draco by the shoulders, "I will tell you someday, but right now, I need you to go watch Hermione. Distract her, make her feel like everything's ok. Please Draco."

"Yeah sure, we have to talk to Potter and his friends. Make sure that, what ever it is you're doing, it isn't going to hurt anyone." Her name hung in the air, acknowledged but unspoken.

"I'll do my best, but I can't guarantee it. Goodbye Draco."  
Draco watched Brett walk fast down the rest of the hallway before turning a corner, heading in the direction of the headmaster's office.

"Oh Merlin, I hope he knows what he's doing." And then he too turned around and walked away, back to his dormitory where he was supposed to meet Hermione.

"McGonagall, I have to go. But I'll be back by tomorrow, I promise. But it's an emergency."

"Brett-" she was still slightly shocked from his barging into her office, eyes panicked, body hyped.

"No, please. It's about my wife. It's about Josi."  
"Wait what?"

"I'll explain everything when I get back. I may bring her and her husband back here, it's no longer safe where she is, she's no longer safe where I put her. Look, I know that you've been looking for me, that's why I disguised myself so you wouldn't know who I was. Can I use the door?"  
"What door? And you better explain everything when you get back."

"The one that moves you outside the gate to the Grounds. It's just behind the portrait of the first Headmaster. You open the portrait and then take the slide that's behind it. Then it plops you outside next to the gates so that you can get out of here faster. Please."

"Of course, Brett. But I, I thought Josi was dead."

"I'll explain everything when I get back."

She nodded and he moved to the door that would let him save the woman he had given everything he had to protect.

The moment he reached the outer walls, he Appaperated away.

"Jack! Will you get that?"

"I'm reading the paper, Beca."

"Men," she murmured and dried her hands on the towel at the stove.

"Hello, may I ask who you are?" she said a little accusatory to the man standing before her. When she looked at his face, her eyes were instantly drawn to his. She blinked after a moment, as if waking out of a trance, before slapping him in the face.

"Ok, I deserved that, actually I deserve a lot more than that, but Josi, just let me in. Voldemort is coming I think."  
She stood to the side and waved him inside, before she turned away and said "My husband's in the living room. You damn well better explain yourself. I have to finish dinner."

She left him standing in the front hallway, stupefied. That was definitely not the reaction he had expected. After a moment he followed her to the kitchen.

"What part of he's in the living room did you not understand?"  
"Actually, Josi, your husband is standing here in the kitchen with you."  
"You no longer count, Brett." Her back was towards him as she set a pot onto the stove top.  
"Well, I suppose that would be a good thing, Beca, but why in the world did he call you Josi?"

"Jack, well, he sort of has a lot of explaining to do. Why do you think Voldemort is coming?" she said as she started to chop up the food beside her.

"Well, for one, he is after our daughter, who happens to be the best friend of his worst enemy. Besides that, she is believed to be a Muggle-born, and you are her parents."

"But why tonight?" she asked as she moved the chopped up food beside her into a boiling pot.

"Draco and I both have had a bad feeling all day that neither of us could shake. When he thought it had something to do with Hermione, I realized that he was right. I had to dig up your address, but I'm telling you, Voldemort is on his way here."

"Ok, listen here Brett, I don't know who you are, or what you think you're doing, but I'll be damned if I let you try to scare my wife with some, some made up person!"

"Listen, Jack, Voldemort isn't some made up person. He's the wizard that has been terrifying the wizarding community for decades, even after his supposed death."

Brett turned to look at 'Jack' and just stared at him with an empty expression. He watched the man blink for a moment and then his fist swung forward.

He stumbled backwards, reaching to catch his balance before holding a hand to his jaw, "I definitely deserved that one Bryan . Listen, I need to know where that black desk is. I promise I will tell you everything when we get back to Hogwarts, just tell me where the desk is."  
"Why do you need to know where the desk is Brett?" Bryan asked, his hands still fisted at his sides as he shook with anger.

Josi glanced back at them both and answered for him, "I expect that's where he hid our wands. So they were always within reach when this sort of thing happened. Come on, I'll show you." again she dried her hands on the towel in front of her and they followed her out of the kitchen into a den of sorts.

"There you go, but I'm telling you, Voldemort is not after us." They all heard footsteps approaching in the silence that followed.

"It's probably a salesman or something."

"I've never known you to be stupid Josi. Biased, sure, but stupid? No." he was running his hands down the sides of the desk, as if he were feeling for something. They heard the door break in and Bryan whispered, "Hurry up Brett."

He found the small divots he was looking for a moment later and pressed. An instant later, two drawers opened that were just big enough for their wands. He pulled them out and handed each one to the owner.

"Did you want to fight?" Brett asked as he looked at them. Just then, the den door burst open and Bryan said, "No choice now," and then the room was lit with so many different colors, it was hard to see each other.

After only two minutes of fighting, Brett heard Josi scream.

"Alright," he whispered, and slid his wand down his sleeve, "You asked for it."

He brought his hands together and thought of the ice rune, before he aimed his palms towards the Death Eaters and moved them side ways. The four in front of him froze instantly. Others were struggling with the cold. He rushed towards her and froze the one standing in front of her and pulled her up.

"I think it's time we head to Moony's house," he whispered in her ear as he supported her body. She nodded and he let her go. A split second later, he heard the _crack_ as she left. He moved back into the target of the Death Eaters surrounding Bryan when he heard Voldemort himself finally coming into the room. He held his breath as he seized Bryan's arm and Appaperated to the Shrieking Shack.

"What the bloody hell are you doing Brett?" Bryan nearly shouted as he ripped his arm from the man's grasp.

"Getting you out of there alive. Josi!"

"Over here Brett. Bryan ?"  
"I'm here with him. Where the hell are we?"

"We're in the Shrieking Shack. It's where Remus went on the full moon. By the way, why exactly did we come here?" she said as she entered the room they were in.

"It's close to the school and it's got enough room so that I can heal the two of you."

"In case you've forgotten, I can heal the both of you real easy." Josi said as she placed her hands on her hips.

"You may be able to help him, but you can't help yourself, nor can you help me. We discovered after Voldemort put me in that coma that you can't heal me anymore. Besides, you can only heal the skin which would be good for him, but first we need to find out if he's hurt on the inside."

"Wouldn't it be easier if he wasn't hurting on the outside anymore?" they had gotten in each other's faces, both red faced with anger.

"Hey! You do realize that I am still here right? Well then, why don't you let me choose?"  
"Fine," Josi said confidently.

"Ok, well then I'm going to go with Brett on this one because, as pissed as I am with him, he knows better than you do about healing people. You fixed them with a simple touch but he had to learn all the spells and everything."

"Yeah, sure fine. Call me in when he's done, since he'll probably make you strip."

"Yeah he needs to, but why are you leaving then? Surely you've seen him in less than his boxers."  
Bryan and Josi looked at each other with alarm in their eyes.

"Well, actually no, I haven't." she looked embarrassed.

"But you thought you were married and…"

"And it never felt right, ok? Merlin Brett, give it a rest. It'_s_ _your_ fault that everything got screwed up."

"Sorry for trying to protect everyone I love," he mumbled before saying louder, "If you're going to go, then go. I need to look him over as soon as I can so that if anything is damaged, it doesn't get worse."

She whipped around and walked swiftly out the door that she had come in a few minutes earlier.

"Brett, you really have to explain it to her. I guess, now that I've realized it was the only thing you _could_ do, that I shouldn't be too angry with you. But she never was the type."

"I know. Now can I please look you over? I really don't want you to remember that you're a wizard only to die a few hours later."  
"Me neither."

"Josi I'm done."

"Good." She walked in, still furious, and gripped Bryans arm in her hands. She gently touched one of the larger cuts with her finger, only to have him gasp in pain.

"What, what did I do?"

Bryan glanced down at his arm, then to his fingers, then to the place every sore had been moments before, "I don't remember you ever being able to do that."  
"Me either. That was not normal." She looked over at Brett who was a little wide eyed but he managed to say, "Magic build up. You haven't used any form of magic in nearly eighteen years, it would make sense that everything would work more easily and heavily now. But it should wear off eventually."

"Yes, yes well-what was that?"

They all listened to someone coming in through the trapdoor a floor below them. Brett looked at the both of them and whispered, "Meet me outside of Honeydukes. We'll take that way instead. Josi I'll fix you up when we get back." and with that he disappeared.

"Umm, what's Honeydukes?"

"Hold my arm, I'll get us there." And then they too disappeared.

Ron Weasly would wander up the stairs a few minutes later to see nothing but dust and shredded furniture occupying the room.


	10. Tunnel

"A candy store? How is this beneficial to us in any way?"

"Because there's a trapdoor in the basement that brings you into a passage that leads straight into Hogwarts, and Brett?"  
"What?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Um, how are you going to explain why we're there? First off everyone thinks we're Muggles, second off where will we stay and third off, Hermione will atleast know that something's up."

"Well you're here because I came to talk to you about Hermione possibly doing more advanced work and then you were attacked. You can stay in the guest rooms Hogwarts has. And of course Hermione will know something is up, but we'll figure something out when she decides to confront us."

"And the part about us being Muggles Brett? Muggles aren't allowed on school grounds are they?"

"Under extenuating circumstances Muggles are allowed on the grounds and can stay at the school. And being attacked by Voldemort, but surviving it, is definitely extenuating. Besides McGonagall already knows who you are so it's not going to be a problem."

"McGonagall already knows? How long has she known?"  
"Well Josi, about ten minutes longer than you have. Hell I've been working with her for nearly seventeen years and she only knew today who I was when I came bursting into her office babbling about you and needing to help you." He opened the trapdoor to the passage and waved his hand, motioning for them to proceed. Josi shook her head at him and stepped down the first few steps.

Bryan followed after her head was barely visible, Brett following soon there after.

"Brett if you're so good at keeping secrets and screwing up everyone's memories, why did you just let it aaaaahh!!"

"Josi? Josi are you ok?" Brett asked worriedly as he heard her body collide with the steps a few times. Bryan hurried down to her, Brett able to go no faster than he.

She hissed as she gently touched her fingers to her now throbbing ankle.

"Well, yeah. Do you think you could possibly fix my ankle though? I think," she took a deep breath as they reached her, "I think I may have broken it."

"Yeah, here, oh," he said as he looked it over.

"What?"

"Well it wasn't a clean break. I have to set it so it'll have to wait until we get back to the school."

"Well I can't walk on it."  
"No, no you can't."  
"Well then someone is going to have to carry me. Simple as that."  
Brett and Bryan looked at each other before Bryan said, "She is _your_ wife."

He nodded and turned back to her, "Alright. But I'm going to make you feather light because we still have a long walk ahead of us," he cast the spell before he slid his arms beneath her, "Ready?" she nodded and he stood as her arms wound their way around his neck.

"Let's go, this is starting to hurt."

Brett chuckled lightly and she gently smacked his chest as he said, "Well of course it is, it _is_ broken you know."

They walked in comfortable silence for a while before they heard footsteps approaching them. Brett turned so that his back was flush with the wall and slid Josi down his front, still holding her but so that she was standing beside him. Bryan was flat against the wall opposite them.

"Well Harry, why in the world would he come here?"  
"Why would he go anywhere Hermione? I really don't know. He said he wanted to be alone for a while but that was hours ago, after we told him everything you know, and when I looked at the map I couldn't find him. And the Room of Requirement let me in so he wasn't there. That means he had to have gone off the grounds."

"I understand Harry; it's just that - Merlin! Who are you? Mum? Dad? Brett? What are you doing here?"

"Hermione? Oh, well see what's you're name? Vase? Fence?"

"Vance, he's my Ancient Runes Professor."  
"Well if he's your Professor, why are you calling him Brett?"  
"Dad, he's more of a friend than a teacher. He's helping me and my friends with our research, project."  
"Sure, sure. Well I really don't know why we're in a tunnel, but why are you in the tunnel with us?" Merlin, Brett thought, they were just as good of actors as they were before.

"Well, our friend Ron, he sort of disappeared and we think he might have come out here."

"Correction Harry, you think he might have come out here. There's nothing he could do out here and even Ronald isn't stupid enough to wander the streets during these times. He could be killed be Death Eaters."  
"Actually I think the majority are at your house Hermione," Brett corrected.  
"Wh-what?"

"So that's what those things were called!" Josi exclaimed as she shifted on her feet, before collapsing and hissing in pain.

"MUM! What happened? Are you okay?" Hermione asked as she hurried to her fallen mother's side.

"Oh, of course I just tripped coming down those stairs. Got a few more bumps and bruises is all."

"Not to mention your broken foot," Bryan whispered as he looked into her face.

"Broken foot? And you were walking on it? What is wrong with you two?"  
"No, honey, I wasn't walking on it. Mr. Vance was carrying me."  
"Professor, and why didn't he just heal you? Why didn't you just heal her?" she shouted as she turned on him.

"It wasn't a clean break. I have to set it before I can heal it. And we should probably get going so that she doesn't hurt for longer than necessary. You two should come back with us because the streets were deserted, Mr. Weasley isn't out there." He turned back towards Josi and in one swift motion, brought her up into his arms and stood.

"Can I ask a question? Why were you at Hermione's parents in the first place?"

"Oh, hello Harry."  
"Hi Mrs. Granger."

"Well, he was in the middle of talking about putting Hermione in a more advanced class. Of the rune things."  
"And then a bunch of creepy looking men in black robes and white masks came in. Your Professor here got us out but let me tell you, it was the strangest feeling, whatever he did." Bryan added.

"It's called Appaperating Dad. Brett why are you carrying my mother? My father is plenty capable."

"I put a feather light spell on her because it's a long walk. It would be too strange for your Dad in my opinion, and secondly I know where most of the grooves and such are whereas your father does not so he might trip which could further harm your mother."

"Oh," she said feeling like an idiot because of the tone in his voice. The group continued in silence for a while, Brett leading the way until they came upon the slide that was the entrance.

"Um, how are you going to get her up there?" Bryan asked as if he had no clue that Brett could levitate her.

"Well I could fly her up there or," he nodded his head at Harry who came up to him confused, "Harry can pull on the chain right over here and turn the slide into steps."

"But its stone," Josi started incredulously, "Can you really change it in to stairs with a little chain?"  
"Yes, Harry do you see it yet?"

"No, not yet. I didn't even know there was one."

"You didn't? But I thought you had the Map."

"I do, but it doesn't say anything about a chain. Wait, how do you know I have a map? Let alone a specific map?"  
"James and Sirius showed it to me when we transferred back here. Then they got it taken away the last week of school in hopes that, now what was it? Oh yes in hopes that 'someday mini Marauders would discover it and use it to their own advantage' if I remember correctly. Lily wanted to kill him for even having it. Well anyways, let me try. Mrs. Granger do you mind?"

"Oh, not at all." Josi slowly slid down his front again and leaned against the wall balancing on one foot for a moment before Bryan came to her side and drew her arm over his shoulder and placed his around her waist.

"This is really strange. It's like she isn't even there."  
"Yeah, oh here it is." There was a sound of crunching and then the slide lifted every few feet to create steps. Brett smiled proudly for a moment and then walked back to Josi. She nodded at him and Bryan let go so Brett could sweep her into his arms yet again.

"Ok, since Madame Pomfrey only treats wizards, I'm going to take your mother to my rooms. I'll fix her up and then we can go get your parents settled after we talk to McGonagall."

"Sounds fine to me. Hermione, dear, I hope you find your friend. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Mum, Dad." She only nodded at Brett.

"Wait, have you two checked the Shack?"  
"Why would he go there though Professor?"

"It's secluded, Harry. And not many people know how to get into it, let alone _can_."

"Oh, good point. Well I'll check there. Don't you have to go patrol with Malfoy, Hermione?"

"Yes," she answered in a stiff voice. Brett wondered what had changed that would make her react that way to just his name.

"Oh, can you ask him to stop by my chambers in the morning? It doesn't have to be before breakfast or anything; it could be before his first class or whatever. I just need to talk to him."

"Sure." And then she walked away in the direction of her dorm. Harry followed her with his eyes and then looked back at the three adults, "He just said something she didn't like this afternoon after Ron left."

They all nodded and Harry stood there awkwardly for a moment before he said, "Well it was nice seeing you again, minus the reasons as to why. And I hope you get fixed up and everything. Goodnight." And then he too walked away.

"Um, you can just tell me where McGonagall's office is and I'll find it."

"We can all go together once I fix Josi up Bryan; it's not going to take too long."

"No, but I figure you still have a lot of explaining to do and I'd rather not be there for it. I understand why you did it, I respect you for it, and I'll still be angry with you for a while and that won't help. It will help her, so, yeah." Brett paused a moment before he said, "Go all the way to the end of this hallway, you'll see this big bird statue with two goblin things on the side. The password's 'Saber tooth,'" at Bryan's raised eyebrows, Brett shrugged, "She loves all sorts of cats, big and small, house and wild, so it makes sense."

"Right. Well goodnight. Oh, and I am allowed to tell her the truth right?"

"Of course, she already knows that I'm alive and well, that I am who I am. Goodnight Bryan," Josi said with a small smile.  
He smiled tiredly at the two of them before walking off to find the doorway.

"By the way, I'm not really expecting you back tonight." Brett looked utterly stunned at the implication. Josi just chuckled lightly and said "Are you going to fix me up or not?"

"Right, right." They continued on to his rooms in an almost awkward silence. It wasn't complete since only Brett felt awkward. When they entered his rooms, he walked straight to his bedroom and laid her down, "Ok, you strip and I'll go get the potions."

"Well isn't that a great thing for you to tell me when I'm on your bed," she laughed as his face turned red.

"Sorry," he muttered before walking into the adjoining bathroom for his healing potions.

"Why did you do it?" she asked after a minute.

"Why?" he didn't even think about it before he continued, "Because it was the only way I could think of to protect you and our little girl. I, I didn't want you to really die, because Voldemort would have killed you sooner or later. I thought that loosing you by my own fault would be less painful because I would know you were alive and safe. I even put this spell on you guys," he entered the room to see her in only her undergarments and he nearly dropped the potions he was holding. He hadn't seen her in so many years and he hadn't even seen a woman other than her in his life, "It uh, it protects you from magical detection. So even had Voldemort known you were there, the spell would have thrown him off. It covers your skin until the caster removes it. Not even Dumbledore would have been able to do it."  
He approached her and silence reigned as he fixed her body from the inside out, the way he used to know it. He pulled away from her and then he saw it. That beautiful little freckle he had never been able to resist. It was just above her left hip. He gently pressed his lips to it and when he looked up into her wide eyes, they both knew it was over.

They both realized that it had been over before it had even begun as he captured her lips with his. And they tumbled down the path that they had taken so many years ago, the one that had brought them the most beautiful children they had ever seen.


	11. Pancake Breakfast

When they woke the next morning, wrapped up in each other, they smiled brightly at each other and he kissed her lips again, slowly, deeply, before her pulled away.

"Applejuice?"  
"And pancakes, you make the best pancakes." He laughed softly as he brushed a small strand of hair out of her face, "And strawberry pancakes."

She smiled back at him and trailed her fingers lightly down his chest, loving the groan the came from him. When she stopped he opened his eyes, kissed her briefly again and slid out of bed, reaching for his clothes. He looked at her lying in his bed, naked and sticky with sweat, and it was hard for him to think of something more beautiful.

"Brett?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to steal some clothes ok?"

"Yeah. We'll go and get you some more today."

"What about your classes?"

"That's what I needed to talk to Draco about this morning, see if he wouldn't mind teaching my classes for the day."  
"Oh, are you going to serve him pancakes to sweeten up the deal?"  
He laughed and shook his head, "No, but if he wants some pancakes, he can have some."

She smiled bigger and stood from the bed, "Where's your shower?" it took him a moment to answer her, seeing as she was still naked, "In the bathroom, Josi, right through that door."

"Well you can't expect me to remember that sort of thing, I was delirious last night." She winked at him, a very sexy wink and he laughed again, before he pushed her in the direction of the shower, "I'll take one after we eat."

"Good," and then she walked away. Well, more of sauntered into his bathroom. Shaking his head, he pulled on his under shirt and a pair of jeans over is boxers. Then he started to his kitchen. When he heard the knock on his door he just hollered, "Come on in," before continuing to the kitchen.

"Um, Brett?"  
"Oh, hey Hermione. Your mom fell asleep last night after I healed her. She's taking a shower and I'm making pancakes. I was actually just about to call Eli to get your dad."

"Oh, well, I was just wondering…"  
"Yeah? Do you want to stay for pancakes?"

"Um, no, no I don't think so,"

"Well then spit it out, whatever your trying to say," he grabbed the flour and the other ingredients he needed for the pancake batter.

"Was that what you were really doing with my parents? I mean, its not that I don't believe you, it's just that, well,"  
"You don't believe me. I went there to talk to your parents."

"It's just a really weird coincidence that you were there when Voldemort attacked. It's a good thing you were, don't get me wrong,"  
She was interrupted by another knock on Brett's door to which he again shouted, "Come on in," before returning his gaze to Hermione.

"I just-"

"Hey Brett, Granger said you needed to see me? Speak of the devil, morning Granger."

"Good morning, good morning," she mumbled wringing her hands together in front of her.

"Yeah," Draco said, dragging the word out before sitting at one of the chairs at the table and continuing, "So what did you need to talk to me about?"  
"I was wondering if you would teach my classes for the day. I've only got third and fourth years today so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"Sure, just. Well, why?"

"Hermione didn't tell you?"  
"Tell me what?" they heard footsteps approaching and Draco turned to see who was coming. His jaw literally dropped as he looked at the woman in Brett's clothes. He looked from Hermione to Brett back to the woman who was standing frozen in the doorway.

"I should have, it's so obvious, why didn't I see it before? Am I right? I mean I thought that maybe, with everything you both said, but really? Oh wow," he realized he was rambling and most likely confusing Hermione and maybe her mother as Brett nodded.

"'Oh wow' what Malfoy?" Hermione asked accusingly.

"Oh, well you look a lot like your mother. Nearly identical, minus the eyes and hair, you're her spitting image," and then he murmured to himself, "and it's so damn obvious."

"Um, may I ask who you are?"  
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. You must be Mrs. Granger. Pleasure to meet you," he took in her clothing and raised his eyebrows. She smiled lightly and said, "Since we really didn't have any time to pack, Mr. Vance, no sorry, Brett told me and Jack last night that he would take us to get clothes today. Where is Jack?"  
"Oh, ELI!"

"Yes sir?" came a squeaky little voice that was preceded by a sharp _crack_.

"Can you go retrieve Mr. Granger? Tell him Mrs. Granger is awake and Hermione is here as well."

"Yes sir," and with the snap of his fingers, the elf disappeared. Josi was wide eyed as she finally looked up at the three of them.

"Wha-what was that?"

"A house elf, Mum."

"They're sort of like wizard servants," Draco put in, receiving a glare from Hermione.

"Well they are," he said as he shrugged, she rolled her eyes and turned back to her mother.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Best night of sleep I've had in years. Do they put spells on the mattresses or something?" Draco chuckled at her and Hermione tried to hide a smile as she said, "I don't think so Mum."

"Oh, well how was I supposed to know?" Draco had to admit, she was good at pretending to be ignorant of magic. She sighed and sat at the chair across from Draco, "What time do your classes start?"

He glanced at the clock above Brett's head as he started cooking the pancakes, "An hour or so. But I have a free period during the first class this morning. Oh, did you already tell McGonagall?"

"No, but I will. Which basically means you don't have to go to any of your classes today."

"Will she agree?"

Brett shrugged as he flipped the pancakes, "She'll have to. No one else can teach it because they really don't know it. And besides, you can catch up on your classes easily can't you?"

"Yeah, sure."

There was a crack and Bryan said, as he saw Draco and Hermione, "That is the weirdest feeling. Thanks for the clothes and the, um, ride?"

"Yes, sir." And Eli then disappeared for the final time.

"It's not a ride Dad," Hermione giggled, and Draco cracked a smile as the man shrugged and kissed Hermione's mother on the cheek.

"Well, good morning anyways. Did everyone sleep well?"

"Yes, did you?"

"Yes, yes, do I smell pancakes?"

Brett turned around smiling as he slid the first batch off onto a plate, "Strawberry. I figured we needed some seeing as we're going shopping. With a woman along, it could get rather heavy." Josi just smiled as Bryan nodded.

Brett turned to Draco and Hermione, "You're welcome to stay for some. I'm not sure how I compare to the house elves, but I've heard I make pretty good ones."

"Sure, thanks."

"Well, I don't see why not." Hermione sat in the remaining chair and Brett conjured five plates, glasses, and forks.

"Can one of you two enlarge the table and get another chair?"

"Of course," Hermione said and a moment later the table was bigger and Brett had a chair to sit in. And they ate breakfast as if they were an odd Muggle family.

"You still make the best pancakes Brett," Bryan said after the two students had left, "but I'm betting that Josi still makes everything else better than you do."  
"I bet she does. You guys almost ready to go?"  
"Well, once I fix my clothes, I am. Bryan did Eli really bring you clothes?"

"Nah, I conjured them but I figured that wouldn't be a good to tell them. And you're wearing?"

"Just pajamas, that's all. He didn't have time to conjure me any before I fell asleep."

"Of course," Bryan said as he shook his head. It was really weird to think that she wasn't married to him really. But they had been for nearly twenty years.

"So, how about Diagon Alley?"

"Well, don't they only sell robes there?"

"Yeah, Josi, but we can go through to the Muggle side but first I gotta exchange some money."  
"Oh, right. Sorry."

They spent the next few hours shopping in Muggle London, after Bryan had also gotten money from his Muggle account, having the sort of fun none of them had had in a long time.

"Malfoy, what were you really thinking this morning?" Hermione asked as she sat in the empty classroom during her free period that morning that they happened to share.

"That you and your mother look a lot alike."

"But you said something about not realizing it before, that both people said something. I don't like liars, especially ones who insult my friends."

"Does it really count as an insult if it's true?"

"Malfoy! You don't call him a jealous idiot just because he needed time after we told him everything with the Jareds. It's just not right."

"That's spectacular Granger, but I really don't care."

"Besides, it's not like he has anything to be jealous of."

"Maybe because he's in love with you and thinks that you and I are more than whatever the bloody hell we are?" they were both standing now, shouting at each other and making wild gestures with their hands.

"How can he think there's something more than whatever we are if we don't even know what we are? That just doesn't make sense Malfoy!"

"Because he's an idiot! Did you not hear the second part of the insult? A jealous _idiot_! And because he's an idiot he jumps to conclusions that are damn near impossible, which makes him jealous of nonexistent things, and it's just a cycle that he has to follow."

"Draco Malfoy, Ronald is not a jealous idiot!"

"Would you prefer I call him a dumb bumbling fool who's in love with his best friend, who doesn't love him back? Does that make you happy?"

"No! How do you know I don't love him back?"

"So you admit he's in love with you?"

"What?" she stopped at the defeat in his suddenly quiet voice.

"And you love him back?" his voice was back to its normal volume, but it was missing that cocky attitude, that silly smirk, that everything she never realized was what made his voice so distinctly his.

"No, no I don't. I never have and I don't think I ever will."

"Good," he pulled back from her and started to wander around the room, unable to think of what to do. She watched him for a few minutes as the silence grew stronger and scarier. When she heard the dismissal bell, she silently thanked Merlin for it.

"I have to get to, Harry and Ronald, class. Bye." When she left him standing there by himself, he couldn't help but wonder if he had just screwed up any chance he had. He couldn't help but wonder if she would ever even want to sit and talk and joke with him like did just a few nights before. And even if she did, would it be the same?

_Would it be the same?_


	12. The Truth

"Brett." Draco nodded curtly towards him as he walked into his classroom.

"Hey Draco, how'd it go today?" he was smiling as if he had a wonderful day.

"Good, good, minus the part that I learned you were lying to me and Hermione, and, _and_ Hermione is your daughter! But I can't tell her any of it because it's not my secret to tell, blah, blah, blah. And now she's angry with me because I kept your _stupid_ secret!"

"Protecting my family is stupid?"  
"Well, now that it's all in the open, why, yes, yes it is! She can handle it Brett, she can. I know her, I know you too. And you probably won't ever tell her which means I get to lie to her for forever, which isn't that great. Hope you and your dead wife had fun today," and then he stormed out leaving Brett stunned in his wake. So the boy had figured nearly everything out. Not that Brett could figure out _how_, but he'd done it. Sighing he moved to his rooms, telling himself he would talk to the boy after class tomorrow, if he would stay.

"What's wrong Malfoy?"

"Nothing Granger, absofuckinglutely nothing."

"Are you still angry at me about earlier? About Ronald?"

"What? No, no, I'm not angry at you. Why the bloody hell would I be angry at you? You've done nothing wrong."

"I just thought, that since you're so angry right now, around me, that it was my fault."  
"Granger, I'm not mad at you, hell I don't know if I could stay mad at you for more than ten minutes."

"Then what are you mad _about_? Because you are definitely mad."  
"I can't tell you, that's what I'm mad about."

"That doesn't make any sense."  
"Yeah, I know Granger, I know. Just, just let me alone for a while. Actually, I think I'm going to go to sleep. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."  
"Malfoy?" she asked when he was almost at his bedroom door.

"Yeah?"  
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. Apparently, though, Brett was right. Ronald had gone to the Shrieking Shack."  
"Great, whatever. Night."

She stood and watched his door for a while after it closed before turning towards her own. She couldn't understand him sometimes. He wasn't mad at her, but he was angry about something that had to do with her. Something he couldn't tell her about. She sighed as she opened her bedroom door wondering how big this something was. Wondering if it really was worth all the trouble he was making it seem to be.

"Harry, I still don't care. Sure, Malfoy helped us, sure he is being all nice, but I still don't trust him. Look was he's done to Hermione!"

"What's he done to Hermione Ron? Really, he hasn't done a thing but befriend her. And that is a good thing, sort of."

"Sort of? Sort of, Harry it is not good. It can't be 'sort of' a good thing. It either is or it isn't."

"Well then Ron, I think it's a good thing. Hermione needs more friends than just the three of us. Good friends atleast. I mean you two argue so much its ridiculous, and Harry and I get caught in the middle and she probably just got tired of it," Ginny said as she sighed.

"So she's replacing us? That does not sound like a good thing does it Harry? Ginny just agreed with me!"  
"No I did not. Did you not hear the 'I think it's a good thing' part? And my explanation was in fact, proving it a good thing. She doesn't need nor want friends who are constantly fighting with her, or torn between the two. Malfoy won't be like that, he'll just be a friend. Albeit an odd one, but a friend nonetheless."

"Ginny, **we** _are_ her friends, not people who have hated her and degraded her all her magical life!"

"Ron, it doesn't matter. She'll have the friends she wants whether we like it or not. Nothing is going to change that so just get over it."

"And get over her. She doesn't like you like that, you're attempt at jealousy didn't work at all last year," Ginny added as she stood and moved to leave the boy's dormitory.

"She couldn't stand to be around me and Lavender because she was jealous," he stated matter of factly.

"Ha! She couldn't stand to be around you because she's human. You two were utterly disgusting. Now good night and stop being an idiot Ron."

"Night Ginny."

"Yeah, night sis. And I'm not an idiot." She just rolled her eyes as she closed the door behind her.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yeah?" Draco answered, still a little grumpy at his favorite teacher and friend. He thought he had every right to be.

"Can you stay after class please?"

"Sure. Whatever." The rest of class was spent with Hermione trying to get him to cheer up. She even screwed up the Levitation Rune to try and get him to laugh. He didn't even crack a smile before showing her how you're supposed to do it.

"Yes Miss Granger?"

"Oh, um nothing. I'll meet you in the library, Malfoy."

He only nodded, not taking his angry glare off of Brett's face. She sighed before she turned and left the classroom, wondering what was going on.

"Draco, I didn't mean to put that on you, I really didn't. I didn't even realize that you were talking about well, you know, yesterday morning. I thought you really were just surprised that Hermione's Mum was here, and how much they really do look alike. How did you figure it out?"

"I'm sure Granger will figure it out soon enough. She knew you were lying about your wife, right after we were done talking. She put the pieces together faster than I could. Although, I was sort of blinded by the fact that I didn't think you would lie to me about something like that."  
"I, I'm not following."

"We had spoken to McGonagall. She said she was looking for a man, she called him John, whose wife and child had died during child birth. She said that you two were in the Order, that you knew the Potters. She also said that you were friends with my parents.

"Then we talk to you and you tell us your wife and child died during child birth, that you were in the Order, that you were good friends with the Potters. And you want to know what the first thing I told Granger about you? I told her that you were friends with my parents. A good, close friend, even if it was years ago.

"And then I remembered the pictures my Mum used to have on the mantle. With all of us, you and you're wife when she was pregnant, and me and my parents. I was just a little baby in them. She had them up and plenty of others, without your wife, from over the years. She only took them down after you left for good." He shook his head as he sat in a chair, near the door, but close enough for Brett to hear him.

"She and Granger look so much alike. But your wife, she, she always looked so happy in those pictures. She was excited, in love with the father of her children, who actually loved her back, and," his excited voice suddenly calmed, "And she didn't know what was going to happen. Would she have been that happy had she known? Or would she have been sad, or furious in those pictures? But it doesn't matter now does it? No, no I don't suppose it does."

"Draco…"

"You know what, no. it doesn't matter. Really, it doesn't. I don't have to think about it, and if I don't have to think about it, I won't really have to acknowledge the fact that I can't tell Granger, and if I don't do either of those things, than I won't be angry."

"No Draco." It seemed as if Brett had pulled him out of his own little world. One that Brett couldn't figure out when he had fallen into.

"What? Why not? Do you really want me to be angry and furious and not even want to be in the same room as you or Granger's parents?" his fury was back in his voice as he sat forward in his seat, "Is that what you really want?"

"No, not in the slightest. I want you to tell Hermione." Draco nearly fell out of his seat seeing as he was sitting near the edge.

"_What_?"

Hermione was glancing at her watch when he finally came into the library, "What took you so long?" he didn't even acknowledge her words as he grabbed her wrist and very nearly dragged her out of the library, causing many curious glances.

"Malfoy!" she shouted as they left the library and she ripped her wrist from his death grip.

"Not here Granger. We have to talk. We _really_ have to talk."

"What, now? Merlin, it couldn't have waited until _after_ we researched?"

"Bloody hell no," he turned to his sides, running his hand through his hair and breathing out, "Granger, this is very important."

"More important than finding the Jareds?"

He paused for a minute, as if he were really thinking about it before hurriedly answering, "Twice," and grabbing her wrist again.

"What can possibly be that important?"

"Ok, how about this Granger, this is more important at the moment rather than in the long run. Better?" with out waiting for an answer, he continued to drag her towards their common room, "Good. Now will you shut up and just come with me?"

"Fine Malfoy but if you don't let go of my wrist, you'll bruise it again."

His hand fell from hers as if it had suddenly caught fire. He was not like his father: he would not hurt the people he cared about. He actually _had_ people he cared about. He mumbled an apology and began walking at a faster pace, letting her catch up to him. She tried twice more to ask him what was going on, only to fail each time. Finally, she gave up and followed the nearly running boy towards their dormitory.

When they finally entered, she saw her parents and Brett on the couches talking. Draco nodded to them, furthering her confusion and dragged her to his bedroom. She stumbled, unable to do anything but let her mouth hang open.

"What, what is going on?" she started to regain her voice and finished strongly with, "I want to know, and I want to know **now**."

"Ok, ok. So Brett told me I could tell you why I was mad, well more of furious."

"What does Brett have to do with anything?"

"Basically, he's the cause of it."

"What?"

"Ok, so here's the thing. The guy, who you think is your dad, really isn't. But you're Mum is actually your Mum."

"Excuse me? And how is Brett the cause of _that_?"

"Well, see he really is your dad. You get your hair and eyes from him. But anyways, I don't really know all the details but I figured it out when I saw your Mum yesterday. You were right, he was lying."

"Wait, what? Slow down please." He took a deep breath, not even realizing that he had been talking so fast that she would have barely understood him.

"Brett is your dad. You were right when you said he was lying about his wife and child dying because, you are his daughter and your mother is his wife," he took another deep breath, letting the words sink in, "But I was also right in the fact that he loves you both very much. He can explain everything he did better. I can tell you though, he did everything that was possible to protect you, and some things that weren't really possible. Well, people didn't believe them to be possible then anyways."

She was blinking incredibly fast, as if trying to wake herself from a dream before, when she realized that it wasn't a dream, turning and throwing his door open as she stormed into the common room.

Brett whispered under his breath as Josi gently squeezed his hand, "Oh dear Merlin, here it comes."


	13. Bring on the Wonder

"I want an explanation and I want it right now! You lied to me for nearly eighteen years? I'll be eighteen in a few months and I find out that my dad really isn't my dad and this, this teacher of mine really is. Which means that I'm a half blood, and not a Muggle born. Oh Merlin help me. " She fell into one of the chairs as she sighed before she sat up and glared at them all. Draco came in behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Well, are you going to tell me or just sit there?" she asked angrily.

"Ok, honey, I didn't lie to you. And you're not a half blood. Actually you're a pure-blood."

"Wait a minute," she turned and looked at Brett, "You're a descendent of Gryffindor and Slytherin," she glanced back at her mother, "And your wife was one of Ravenclaws. So if you're my parents, that means, oh Merlin, that means that I am too." Draco gently squeezed her shoulders, as if to reassure her and said, "Are you going to tell her the rest? Everything?"

"Well, it depends on what she wants to know," Brett said as he looked upon his daughter.

"I want to know everything. I want to know why you lied, what all these impossible things you did were, why you did them. I want to know who the man whom I've always thought as my father is, I want to know what happened to make you do this, I want to know what happens now."

Brett nodded as he took a deep breath, "I lied to keep protecting you, because it was the only to keep you as safe as I could. I did everything I did to keep you safe, to keep you out of Voldemort's eyes," he chuckled darkly, "I didn't count on you becoming Harry Potter's best friend, his best friend who was doing everything she possibly could to help him get rid of Voldemort."

"And I'm Bryan . The three of us, we practically grew up together. I've know Brett since first year, and the both of us have known Josi since fourth." Hermione nodded at him and then turned her attention back to Brett.

"What happened to make me hide you? Well, the fact of you being born I suppose. Voldemort, he's been after me since we came into this war during seventh year, because of these special gifts I have. From being who I am. Well, I didn't join his side, never will, and he decided he would do anything to get me on his side. Or would put me through any sort of hell he could think of before he killed me. Or maybe kept me just on the verge of living, to torture me."  
"How do you know that? And what special gifts?"

"How do I know? Well not only because he's Voldemort but because he told me once. He had captured me and Prongs and Padfoot. He said we each had three days to decide but luckily we were saved before then. I can sort of see the future. I don't know if it really will happen because once I know what it is, I can change it."

"You said gifts as in plural."  
"Hermione, you can do it to. I've seen you do it."

"Do _what_?"

"Wandless magic, and there are a few other little small things that aren't really important. But back to your original question, when we found out Josi was pregnant, I wanted to hide her then and there. Prongs talked me out of it. Said something like it would be really suspicious and everyone would want to know why we were going into hiding, well, a better hiding anyways. We were all already hiding. And when Lily found out she was pregnant a few days later, I knew he was trying so hard to keep to his words, to not bring her into a better hiding place.

"We were scared, more than scared than we had ever been. Dumbledore told the four of us about the prophecy, along with the Longbottms. The three of them were all due at the end of July, Lily and Alice were due on the thirtieth, and Josi was due on the thirty first."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, are you telling me that even the birthday I've always celebrated is a lie as well?"  
"Well, I wasn't going to tell you that, maybe you were premature or something, but yeah. Your birthday is the thirty first of July."

"That's Harry's birthday too."

"Yeah, Lily was a day late."

"When you were born, I had to make my decision. It was extremely difficult to make but I knew what I had to do. I changed the memories of the staff so that they thought you and Josi had died. That's what I told everyone. And then I made Josi think that all our friends were still angry with us, even though it had been nearly a year a half since they had forgiven us."

"Forgiven you for what?"  
"For not telling them everything. About my gifts." She nodded. Accepting another part lie as the truth. Merlin, he hated this. Hated what he was still doing.

"And after she finished recovering, we headed to the States, back home, to see all of our old friends, show you off. We spent the first night with Bryan and they both had a few glasses of celebratory champagne. So I put mind blocks in their heads. It probably wasn't so smart of me because if they had seen me, in all this time, before it was time to get rid of the blocks, they would have been destroyed anyways."  
"Why?" Draco asked as he again squeezed Hermione's shoulders.

"Because of the weak foundation, right?" Brett nodded at her statement.

"But it was a lot easier for me to break them when I needed them to break. I altered their memories so that they had married instead, that they were Jackson and Rebecca Granger, with a beautiful little girl. They knew nothing of magic and I hid their wands in a desk that I knew they would never get rid of. And then I left. I checked in every once in a while, a neighbor just walking my dog, or the mailman substitute, or something. But I was always making sure you were alive, and ok and not about to be attacked by anyone."

"Just like what you did with Potter," Draco said, more of to himself, as his eyebrows drew together in thought. But Brett nodded anyways, "But I checked on Harry more. I knew that Josi and Bryan would do a good job of bringing you up and protecting you. And then we come back to now. Now you know everything."

"No, not everything. You didn't tell me about all the nearly impossible things you did." He sighed, he had hoped that she wouldn't remember that particular question. He didn't want to answer it, not that he really knew why, but still.

"I put the mind block on them. I changed their memories, their names, I didn't name you. Josi did so yes, your name is your real name. I put a lot of charms and spells on the houses you've lived in."

"Such as?"

"I made it unplottable; I made it so that any wizard passing it wouldn't think it was anything but a Muggle house, I made it so you couldn't Appaperate in or on the grounds, and a few other things."

"Other things?"

They heard him mumble, low enough so that even Josi, who was sitting nearly as close as possible to him couldn't make out what he said.

"What was that?" Josi asked.

"I said I put a barrier on your skins so that should any exceptionally skilled wizard walk by you, he wouldn't be able to sense that you were wizards."

"Is that even possible?" Hermione gasped. She looked up at Draco and said, "So that's what you meant." He only nodded in response.

"How did you do that?"

"It was, relatively simple. I just used the spell that I put on the house and modified it a bit so that it would stay on you."

"But, but how? I mean you would have to make it so that it would grow with me and move with our bodies, and it would have to have been skin tight so that should they bump arms with us or something… and modifying a spell isn't simple, especially downsizing it from a house to a person, and then with the other modifications… how long had you been working on it? Years probably."

"No, not years. Just as long as you two were in the hospital after you were born Hermione." Her mouth dropped open, widely.

"That's, that's not possible. They work for decades upon decades at the ministry to develop and modify spells for just one thing. You can't do multiple adaptations in just _days_. It's not wizardly possible."

"It's another one of his special gifts. He could always make a spell do exactly what he wanted it to do." Josi looked at him, amazed herself. He had certainly done a lot to keep them safe. She just wondered what he had done with her son. Maybe she would never know, but she hoped that she would atleast meet him. Maybe she already had. She shook herself out of her thoughts and into the present.

Hermione was looking at Bryan when she said, "You're still my dad, no matter what, you're still my dad," she looked at Brett and said, "He's still my dad."

"I know, I never once believed he would be anything but. He has raised you, and provided for you, and helped you learn. He's done so much more than I have. I know I kind of forced him into it, but I respect him. I know that I couldn't have found anyone better to do what I couldn't."

He was now looking at Bryan, who was simply looking back and when Brett whispered, "Thank you," so quietly, he hardly heard it, he only nodded. He agreed with Hermione, no matter what, he would always think of her as his own.

The next few days passed in a blur for Hermione. She had told Harry, Ronald and Ginny the truth, with Draco right there beside her. Gently squeezing her shoulders. Sure, she hadn't told them everything, simply the big facts.

"Wait, you're a pureblood?" Ginny had asked.

"Yes, and both of the people I thought were my parents are magical. Even though my dad isn't really my dad. My real father is the man who's been helping us research, Brett. Vance isn't his real last name but I haven't asked. He was protecting me and my Mum when he did everything he did." They had been stunned and asked her many questions, which she didn't always answer even though they were in the privacy of hers and Draco's common room. She was sitting in the same chair as before. And when they were finally leaving she remembered she had one more thing to tell them, "And Harry?"

He looked back at her, still trying to absorb in all the information she had told them. Which, granted, wasn't all that much.

"We have the same birthday." The three had stood stunned in the doorway for a moment before nodding and stumbling out into the hallway. She wasn't sure what they would think, wasn't sure what they _should_ think, but really she didn't care. She still had Draco with her, which was something she never thought she would say, so she did.

"Atleast I know I still have you Malfoy." And he had chucked as they moved to the couch to just sit and laugh and talk the rest of the night away.

She still wasn't sure how to act around her father and her parents when they all sat to research with each other. Her mother said she spent most of her time doing just that because she had so many books and so much time to do it in. Especially since she really didn't have anything better to do. Bryan , it was still so weird to call him that, he was helping her since he too had nothing better to do. Brett, and she didn't think she would ever be able to call him 'Dad', was helping after he finished everything he had to do for his classes.

There were nine people in the world at this moment who knew who it was staying in the walls of Hogwarts. The buzz of Muggles staying in Hogwarts, let alone Hermione Granger's parents, died down after three or so days for there was much more interesting gossip.

She had found out who her real parents were on Friday. On the following Thursday, nearly a week since she had learned the truth, she, Draco, Harry, and Ronald were called from Defense Against the Dark Arts by a note signed by McGonagall herself. And when they arrived in her office, she simply sent them to Brett's classroom, saying, "There's something extremely important about the Jareds Josi found out. And yes, I know what the 'Jareds' are. So go, shoo, I have work to do too."

And they had left, nearly running to the Ancient Runes classroom, not knowing what to expect. They walked in on Brett swinging Josi around in a hug while she laughed.

"You are a genius," he had laughed when he set her down. She just continued smiling until they heard someone clearing their throat from the doorway. They almost instantly broke apart from each other.

"Oh hi. So you all got out ok? Good, good, so Josi thinks she knows where the butter is. If he left it where he found it atleast."

"Really? Where?" Hermione asked, pushing the former image from her mind.

"Well, I was looking through the books and diaries and everything and I found an address inside one of them. And when I looked it up, to see where it is, and who owned it and all, I think that's where it is. It's an old palace of sorts. It was in the Ravenclaw family for centuries before I think it was my great-grandparents sold it off because they didn't like China . So the people that bought it lived in it for oh, forty years or so, and then they died. It's been abandoned ever since."

"Where in China ? I mean we can take a plane and then a cab or whatever if they have those in China …"

"Why can't we just Appaperate there?" Ron asked, almost interrupting Hermione.

"Well Ronald, we've never been there before, and even if we did its so much harder with a picture rather than a memory. And anyways, it is far too long, we could splinch ourselves or even worse. I for one am not willing to take that chance."

"Wait a minute, who all would be going?" Draco suddenly asked, "We can't all go, mainly because that would raise suspicion. But also someone needs to get all the stuff so we don't fall too far behind in classes. And Brett, you can't go because you're a teacher…"

"I think that Harry, Hermione and I should go."

"Why not me?" Ron asked, hurt a little at what Hermione's mother had said, "And don't you want Hermione not to die?"

"She won't die Ron. And besides, I think that the less people that go the better. Harry has to go, well because he's Harry. Hermione would be useful on how to destroy it and I can look out for the traps and everything he is sure to have set because I am more tuned to it than you are."

"How? You didn't know you a witch for eighteen years," he said angrily. She moved so she was right in his face and said, "You better watch your tongue before I have to ask Molly if I can cut it out. I was in the Order for nearly three years, and McGonagall said so herself, we were the best. Our group, you know not one of us died on a mission."

"Oh. So when do you leave?" he asked as he gulped slightly.

"As soon as possible."

"So then before dinner or after? Either way I think that you should go through to the Shack and then Appaperate to the train station and take a cab to the airport. Let us know how everything goes?" Brett said as he looked at his wife, feeling that old spark of fear he had back when they worked in the Order. She nodded and smiled encouragingly at him, "We'll be fine."

"Oh, you'll need," he moved to his desk and rummaged through the drawers before pulling out a Muggle wallet, "My credit card. Got one earlier, the code is 9294. Anything you need, go ahead and use it." The dismissal bell rang and everyone looked around. Finally Josi said, "After dinner, pack light and we'll be gone." Harry and Hermione nodded, and the four students left the classroom. Hermione and Draco had a free period but Harry and Ron had to go to some useless class that neither really cared about.


	14. Far Away

Hermione was glancing around the airport as they waited for their flight. Her mother, without even looking at her, gently took her hand.

"Mum, are you really sure? I mean really, _really_ sure?"

"Yes dear. I can feel it. Now stop asking me, you've asked me nearly thirty times already. Harry, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm good. It's just, no, Nevermind."  
"What? 'Never go into a mission unclear of either your objective or how to complete the objective'." He smiled slightly before he said, "I'm just not sure how we're supposed to destroy it. It took a lot for Dumbledore to destroy the ring and I had to stab the diary with the fang of the big old snake."

"Oh, I've got I covered, Harry. I think it might actually be real easy."

"How Mum?" Harry tried not to watch Hermione and her mother. He didn't want to be reminded of how much he wanted what she had, even with all the troubles that had just arisen. He wasn't really paying attention to the conversation any longer as he thought about what life would have been like had his parents raised him.

"-Harry? Are you even listening?"

"Huh-what? Sorry, I'm dazing off. A little tired. It's what, nearly eleven? I'm usually sleeping right now."

"Yes but you can sleep on the plane. Right now you need to pay attention. I have a powder; it's a very dark and not so well known powder. It should kill the soul inside but if it doesn't, we just have to bring it back to Brett. He'll figure out some way to destroy it. For the powder though Harry, you have to be very careful with it. I mean _extremely_ careful."

"What does it do?"

"Well, to put it simply, if it gets on your skin, you _will_ burn from the inside out until you die. Very slow and painful I'm told. Well, it seeps into your skin first all the way to the bone and then it spreads, mainly through your bloodstream. And there's no way to stop it."

"Oh, is that all?" he asked as he squirmed a little in his not so comfortable airport chair. She nodded as they finally heard their flight was boarding. Harry nearly jumped out of his seat, as if it were covered in that powder.

The flight was really easy, mainly because he slept the whole time. When Hermione gently shook him awake he smiled a groggy smile at her. She smiled back at him and said, "We're here Harry. Time to go find the Jared."

"Hmm, yeah. I'm awake. Let's go do thi-ow!" he had stood and hit his head on the carry-on holder above his head. Hermione chuckled as he rubbed his head, "Smooth Harry, very smooth." He simply glared at her. Well, a playful glare since he wasn't really mad her.

"Are you two coming or not?" Josi asked with a laugh herself.

"Yes Mum, we're coming," Hermione said as she rolled her eyes. When they finally got into a cab, after a translator spell of course, it took the cabbie a few minutes to locate their destination.

"There? It's been abandoned for years." His Chinese was turned to English and their English was turn to Chinese.

"Yes, quite sure. Move please, I'm sure people are angry at you for just sitting here when you already have people." He nodded back at them with an angry face. He probably didn't like being told what to do like that, but that was fine. They would simply Appaperate back to the airport. They were just happy that the drive was only a little more than thirty minutes.

When they arrived, Josi paid the cabbie, gave a brief thanks, and dismissed him. She looked up at the building, immaculate it still remained. Sure the colors were faded and the doors were rusty, but you could still see what used to be. When they entered, two staircases wound upwards on opposite sides of the room, both elegant and slightly worn.

"Ok, so now what?" Harry asked, confused as they just stood in the front door way.

"Well, I think he would have hidden it far away so that should anyone stumble across this area, they wouldn't find it."

"Thereby implying that's it's on the upper levels. Can't you just say that Mum?"

"Sorry, it'll probably be in the attic. But when everything starts to feel, oh, how do you describe it? Wrong or bad, basically when you feel something is off, watch out. We'll be getting close and there will be more traps."

"More? As in what?"  
"Well, there will be small traps on the way up there, but once we get past the biggest one, it should be fairly simple to retrieve the bust."

"Why do you say that? I mean when I went with Dumbledore, he said the same thing but then he had to drink this stuff and all of the zombies came up from the water and tried to kill us. Not that Dumbledore wasn't already dying but that's beside the point."

"That's because the locket was much more important to him. You see, it was a part of him, a part of who he thought he should be. He believed he should be this almighty pureblood, being a descendent of Slytherin and all. And since the locket was a part of Slytherin, thereby a part of him as well, when he put part of himself into it, it was sort of a pride thing. That one will be the most protected, unless the other object that we have no clue what it is, is something else of Slytherin's. Then I'd have to say we are completely screwed."

"Oh, so then we hope its something of Gryffindor's?" Hermione said as they slowly followed behind her mother up the stair case.

"Oh yes, yes. If he has a Gryffindor one it will be the least protected simply because it's the least important. He hates anything to do with Gryffindor, hates it with a passion, so he will leave that one more vulnerable."  
"How do you know all this, this stuff, about him? I mean it does make sense, a lot of it actually, but are you certain?"  
"Yes."  
"How can you possibly be certain?" she chuckled at his question.

"Once you get him talking, he just doesn't know how to stop. And if you get him sidetracked, he'll just go on and on and not even realize you did it."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Oh, well, I've done it so many times I lost count."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, when he took me, oh I think it was the third or fourth time, he never really got to why he took me. Every time he came to talk to me or torture me, I distracted him. Couldn't tell you how many times just that once."

"Oh, wow that's-"  
"Stop!" Josi through her hands out on either side of her as they reached the very top of the stairs.

"What? Why?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe it's because he has a trap here?" Hermione said as she rolled her eyes at Harry. Didn't he ever listen?

"Well, how do we get past it?" Josi was looking at something that neither of them could see. She watched it move for a few minutes while they waited in worried silence.

Finally she drew her wand and put it to her wrist before gently dripping three or four drops of blood onto the floor. Suddenly she stood, "Ok, let's go."

"We had to do that too. The whole give blood to gain access thing."

"I have a feeling we'll have to do it at every one. He's obsessed with blood, the purity of it."

"So?"

"So if you're a Muggle-born, you wouldn't be of any use to him so therein, you don't get access. Simple as that."

"Oh," Harry said as they still followed behind her.

"What sort of creatures do you suppose guard this one?"  
"Snakes," Josi said softly.

"Why do think its snakes?" Harry asked as he looked away from Hermione.

"Think what is snakes? Harry you speak Parsletongue right?"  
"Yeah why-oh, oh, um yeah. What do you want me to say?"

"Tell them to go away, leave or atleast don't hurt any of us."

"Ok," and so he did. Told them to not hurt anyone here and the snakes just slithered around their feet, following them, one seemed to want to lead the way.

"Should we follow it?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded. And so they did.

It led them to a small room, surrounded with a weird glow. It told Harry that what he wanted was in there. Harry thanked him, her, it, and they entered the room.

"Merlin, what is _that_?" Hermione asked as she drew her hands to her mouth.

"That, that is what is left of the bust. I think. Harry, are you going to put the powder on it?" Harry gulped but nodded. She slowly and silently handed him a small package.

Taking a deep breath, he opened it very slowly and carefully.

"What do I do with it?"

"Just sprinkle it over the bust, thing. That's what Brett said."

"Ok. Sounds good." Slowly, ever so slowly he gently shook the package over the bust. His eyes were closed and he was leaning away from it as the powder hit it.

After a moment he said, "Nothing happened." He stepped away rather than closer, weary.

"Isn't something supposed to happen?"

"What part of slow and painful did you two not understand?" Josi asked as she pulled Harry a few more steps backwards, "Just give it some time."

"So are we supposed to wait here for hours?" Hermione asked as she stepped closer to her mother's side.

"Oh no, it shouldn't take more than a few moments. A human has more to be destroyed so it takes longer. This is just one part of a human, the weakest part in fact."

"The soul is the weakest part?" Harry asked surprised.

"Yes, most definitely. Any change that happens to a person, a cut on the skin, a broken bone, an infection, anything, will cause pain, even if it's only momentary. But people can change their soul, tear it to pieces, rip the pieces out at their own discretion and never once feel a thing; you'll never be able to repair it. You can break your soul so easily. So, so easily." She sighed and then they all felt the Earth around them shake.

"Here it comes," she whispered as the bust began to shake and shake and shake. When it started glowing she pulled the two children into her arms and turned so that she was shielding them completely. Then they heard something dissolve, almost sizzle the way butter does on a hot pan.

And then there was nothing. Everything stopped shaking, the red glow was gone, it seemed as though nothing had happened in the first place.

"Stay right here," Josi said as she moved away from them. She turned around, to look at the bust only to find a pile of metal pieces, somehow melted to hold onto each other, but only just. She moved closer and picked them up very gently.

"I think it's done. I think you destroyed it Harry. You can look now." She held up the strange pieces to them.

"I agree. Can we go now? Please?" Hermione asked as the snakes started to make their way into the room. Harry heard a soft 'thank you' and he assumed that the snakes didn't like the thing they were told to protect. He smiled at them and nodded.

"Yes, we can go." she, too, nodded at the snakes, as if assuming they could understand that she was thanking them.

"Harry? Are you ready?" she asked as she slipped the pieces into her back pack.

"Yes, please. Let's go."

"Alright. Grab my arms. This way we all end up in the same place." They nodded and gripped her outstretched arms.

"You got it?" Brett asked the moment he saw her face in the mirror.

"Yes, we got it, but it's in bits and pieces now."  
"Good, good, that means it's destroyed. Do you think he felt it?"

"No, the soul, a broken one, can't feel a thing."

"How long until you get back?"  
"We're getting on the plane soon, and then it'll be a few hours. But we will back by tomorrow. It was a lot simpler and faster than I imagined it would be. We'll see you soon."

"Ok. Goodbye," he hesitated, wondering if he was allowed to say it. She simply said, "I love you too," smiling and disappeared.


	15. Goodnight, Goodnight

"So where is it?" Draco asked as Hermione came through the door to their common room.

"Oh, Brett has it. He's locking it up some place safe. That way no one stumbles on it or what ever," she rolled her eyes, "So how was potions all alone?"  
"So much easier, I didn't have someone nagging and practically yelling at me the whole time," he said with a grin on his face. She couldn't help but smile back; he had a great smile, when he actually did smile. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she replied, "I bet you screwed something up."

"Nope, Ol' Sluggy said that ours looks exactly the way it should right now. You look tired," he said as he gave her the once over.

"Oh, no not really. I slept most of both plane rides. You know, we were really only in China for a few hours. They don't have regular flights back to England , so we wandered around for a most of the time we were there. Mum, she found this doll thing, said her sister had one like it when they were younger. And one day her sister had decided to color everything in her room, which obviously made Mum angry, so you want to know what my Mum did?"  
"What?" he said smiling as he summoned a couple of butterbeers.

"Thank you," she took a sip before continuing, "Mum decided to break the head off the doll. Well the doll, it's made of China and so when she went to break off the head, she shattered the whole doll. And even though the mess Mum made was so much easier to take care of, with magic and all, my Mum got the worse punishment. Isn't it odd?"  
"I don't know," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Oh well. I'm still having difficulty with the fact that my mother had siblings. I mean, I never had any aunts or uncles growing up, so no cousins either. I thought that both of my parents were only children. Turns out both of them had multiple siblings."

"Granger, I don't think it really makes a difference."

"Why not?"

"Are you ever going to meet their siblings?"

"Well, no. Apparently both of them lost all of their siblings years ago. Before they were married. But I do have a cousin on my Mum's side."

"Oh, well do you want to meet…"

"Him. And no, not particularly. I mean, he might be a good wizard and all, but I don think that he would be well, decent is all."

"Why not? Are all pureblooded wizards assholes?"  
"Well, the first time you meet them, most are," she said as the left corner of her mouth lifted up. He couldn't help but laugh and put the bottle near his lips as he said, "Yeah, you're probably right," before taking a big gulp. She only smiled and said, "I'm a woman, Malfoy, I'm always right. Learn to live with it. You know, I think you should get to bed. You don't look like you've slept since we left."

He wasn't going to tell her that he hadn't. I mean, who would? When the person who has practically become your life line, the person who you never thought would even be a friend became your best friend, has to go away on a dangerous mission, how is a man expected to sleep?

"Yeah, I should get some sleep. Goodnight Granger," he said before gulping the rest of his butterbeer and setting it on the table.

"Night Malfoy." She nodded at him and curled up on the chair she had sat in soon after she had entered the room. She watched him approach his bedroom door before suddenly turning around and walking towards her.

"What?" she asked as she uncurled her legs and leaned forwards. He simply leaned down to her and wrapped his arms around her before standing them both up. She hugged him back after a moment and they stood that way for a few moments before he whispered into her ear, "I'm glad you came back ok."

And then he was gone, leaving her standing frozen, arms hanging limply beside her body, unsure of what was going on in his head.

But then, she realized she wanted to know. Wanted to know exactly what was going on in his head. She walked across the room, opened his door, and walked in without even knocking.

"What the- Granger, bloody hell," he exclaimed as he picked up the sleeping shirt he dropped. Her eyes scanned his bare chest, this time not frozen by surprise. Stepping up to him slowly, she put her hands softly on it, feeling his heart beating fast beneath her right palm.

He took a deep breath before he said, "What are, what are you doing Granger?" without even attempting to remove her hands.

"If you don't like it, then make me stop," she whispered as she began trailing her fingers along the sculpted lines, almost in amazement. When one of his hands reached up to hers, she could feel it shaking and she sighed. Her fingers slowly started falling downwards, as if she had given up. But then his shaking hand grabbed one and pressed it against his body.

"I never said I didn't like it Granger, all I asked was what were you doing."

She looked up into his and said, "But you never said you did either." And then she turned on her heels, after gently sliding her hand from his, and walked out without another word.

"Bloody hell," he murmured as he ran the hand that had grabbed hers through his hair. For a moment he simply stood there, stunned, the way he had left her just a minute before.

"Two can play at that game," he whispered as he finally dropped his shirt and followed her out of his bedroom into her own.

Her door very nearly slammed open as she was sliding on her pajama pants. When she saw the look in his eyes she nearly jumped.

"You, you were gone far too long. I didn't like it," he whispered as he moved closer to her, "And I don't think I ever will. But you know what Granger?" he was right next to her, his breath hot on her ear as she breathed, "What Malfoy?"  
"I want to make up for lost time." And then his mouth was pressing gentle kisses down her neck, across her chest, back up to her other ear. She was titling her head back, to give him better access, her hands thrust through his hair before she gasped out, "On one condition."

He smirked that smirk that was all him, one she had hated what seemed so many years ago. Now she couldn't seem to get enough of it. His mouth was trailing across her collarbone after he asked, "Which is?"  
"No more hair gel," to which he chuckled, "I thought the ladies liked it."

"I don't. Deal or no deal?" she asked, barely able to form the final word as he bit gently on her ear lobe.

"Deal," he whispered seductively in her ear. She liked the heat of his breath against her skin, hated when it was gone, and nearly moaned as his lips pressed softly against hers.

It started out simple, soft and caring. And then she wanted more, more than just the warmth of his lips, the soft caresses of his hands, so she gently parted her lips beneath his, telling him exactly what she wanted.

But he broke it off, softly letting his lips pull from hers. She opened her eyes and looked at him, as if she were in pain. He gently brushed her cheek with his fingers.

"Not tonight Granger."

"Why not?" she demanded as she leaned closer to him again.

He placed his forehead against hers, his hands resting on her hips, "Granger, Granger, Granger," he chuckled, "What would your friends think? Your parents? And didn't you already decide we would never get all 'cuddly' together?"

She nodded slightly but when he moved to leave her room she grabbed his hand, "Atleast stay with me, please." He looked at her for a brief second before he whispered, "But I can only sleep with the light off, completely," with a sad smile on his face. She didn't even pause before she replied.

"Then I'll turn off the light. I have to get used to the dark sometime. Why not start now?" he hesitated. Sure, he would love to stay with her, hold her while he slept, like he dreamed of for many nights, but he didn't want her to be frightened, scared. Would she have nightmares again? Wake up shaking and screaming?

"Then you'd already be there instead of having to get out of bed. Please Draco." Her use of his first name froze him; he liked the way it rolled off her lips. Much more than he should. And he hadn't even registered the fact that he had spoken his concerns aloud. Finally, after what seemed like hours to her but could have only been minutes, he said, "Alright Granger."

Neither of them really paid any attention to the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt as they climbed into her bed.

In the dark, they couldn't really see each other but she laid her body as close to his as she could. She didn't know what was allowed and what wasn't, but she wanted to feel him next to her. Know that he was right there. Slowly, he turned so he lay on his side, slipping one hand under the pillows and letting the other lay softly across her body.

She moved so that her back was pressing against his front, her arm draped over his as she intertwined their fingers her other hand slipping beneath the pillows as well. She could feel the heat of his breath behind her and she couldn't help but smile.

This may not be exactly the way she pictured it happening, nor the person she expected it to happen with, but she felt the most content she had been in years. Holding his hand, his arm wrapped protectively, lovingly around her body, breathing in unison, and she would bet their hearts were pounding as one.

Nobody would like it, nobody would understand, but it was what she wanted, what she hoped he wanted too. And atleast, atleast Brett already liked him, cared about him as if he were his son. He would approve, she hoped.

And if someone approved, someone who cares about her, about the way her life turns out, then did it really matter what any of her friends thought? She sighed, feeling as though she already trying to defend herself when there was nothing that needed defending. Because there was nothing there.

Simply two good friends, needing to know that the other was still there. Know that they weren't going anywhere. She repeated this so many times in her head that by the time she fell into the deepest sleep she had ever had, she should have convinced herself of its truth.

But she simply couldn't lie to herself about something that significant, that amazingly pure to her.


	16. Dazed and Confused

Ginny knocked on Hermione's bedroom door. Harry had decided something last night, something that she wasn't sure how to handle. And so, since Hermione had given her the passwords when all had been explained, here she was.

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, she called out Hermione's name. When her friend didn't answer yet again, she sighed and pushed the door open, calling her name again.

"Hermione, I need your help." She was walking towards the bed, rubbing her eyes. And that's when she noticed it. Draco Malfoy, the Ferret, was sleeping in Hermione's bed, arm wrapped around her, body pressed against hers without a shirt on.

"No," her voice came out a whisper. Then her sense of betrayal was replaced with anger. She couldn't say that they weren't cuddly and then turn around and have sex with him. It just didn't work like that. Especially since it was only a few days ago. Well, close to a week, but that beside the point in Ginny's mind.

"Hermione Jean Granger!" she nearly shouted. She wanted to laugh at them as the two shot straight up, the blankets sliding down, and nearly cracked their heads together.

"Merlin! Weasley what the bloody hell are you doing here? How did you even get in?"

"Well, I'm here because I needed to talk to Hermione, she gave me the passwords. What I want to know, Ferret, is 'what the bloody hell are _you_ doing here?' especially since Hermione told me just a few days ago, that you weren't even getting cuddly. And now I find you've shagged!" Draco could practically see the steam streaming from her ears.

"Now just hold on a minute Ginny,"  
"Granger and I didn't _shag_, as you so wantonly put it. We slept in the same bed, big deal. I bet you and Potter have slept together, right? Or maybe you and one of your other friends. Just because you share the same bed doesn't mean you're shagging, or even want to!"  
"Malfoy," he looked at Hermione, wishing she would have said his birth name, "Just go. We'll talk later." She saw, only briefly, the pain in his eyes before the anger shielded it. He threw off the blankets on his legs, swung his legs so that they were on the floor and he was sitting up straight.

"Fine then Granger." And then he was moving out the door. Neither girl could stop herself, though, from watching every graceful step, the way every distinct muscle moved.

"Ginny, please," she said after Draco had closed, more of slammed, the door.

Her friend swung around, eyes flaming and said, "Please? Please what Hermione? That was Malfoy, he's _Malfoy_!" her hands were flying around as if to emphasize her point.

"He's my friend Ginny. He cares about me, jokes with me, makes me laugh when I feel like crying, tries to make me happy. All the things that you did."

"So basically he's my replacement then?"  
"No, Ginny. He isn't replacing anyone. You still are my friend, if you want to be. I still want to do all those things for you, because you're practically my sister. You're part of my family, just like Harry and Ron, and now Malfoy. You honestly have no right to treat him the way you do. He hasn't done anything to you, to earn this kind of hatred you give him."

"Have you not listened to everything he's said to you over the years Hermione?"

"Yes, I have. They used to be horrible, horrible things. But I don't believe he meant them, truly honestly meant them. They were just words. Besides, words mean nothing. Did he ever once make a move to hurt me horribly? To try and kill me, or send me to Voldemort? No, not once. He's a good guy Ginny, a good man. He's earned my forgiveness and isn't that all that matters? You're mad because of things he said to me, not to you or Harry or Ronald.

"I forgave him, why can't you?" neither had noticed her movements but suddenly she was standing next to Ginny, her arms placed on her shoulders, very nearly begging.

"But Hermione, he's just, he's Harry's enemy. Someone who's always been against Harry. I don't understand, I don't know how this could have happened."

"You don't need to understand, you just have to accept that it has. And Ginny, there's not much that will change it. Ginny, I care about him, he cares about me-"

"That's just a little difficult to grasp Hermione. I mean, Malfoy, he, he just never seemed to care about anyone."  
"He cares about his mother, he cares about Brett, he cares about me, and I know I couldn't tell you everyone he cares about but that I do know. He does care, he always has."  
Draco was sitting inside the bathroom door, listening to everything they were saying. Granger didn't realize how wrong she was. She had just named all the people he cared about. Maybe more would come, maybe he would eventually care about all the people she cares about, but she had named everyone in this moment.

"No, Hermione, he hasn't." Draco paused; let his eyebrows draw together in confusion. He had always cared about his mother and Brett, and yes, Granger to. She had always drawn him to her, hence the name calling and such. He'd wanted to drive her away. _Ah_, a little voice in his head said, _but they don't know that_. Which was definitely true.

"Maybe not me Ginny, but always his mother and Brett."  
"How could you possibly know that?"

"I just do. Ginny, just try to give him a chance as a friend. If not for me, then for him. He deserves it; he's done so much to make up for his past, for his mistakes."

And then there was silence. He figured Ginny had nodded and then Hermione had given her a hug. That was just what girls did. They could never voice defeat: it just wasn't in their nature.

He smiled suddenly, Granger was convincing her friends to give him a chance. He was going to make sure that he didn't screw this up for her. She wanted them all to be friends, and it would take an effort on both parts to make it that way.

Effort he was willing to give if it made her happy.

_Middle of November_

"So class, your potions should be completed by the end of today, and we will proceed as usual, now hurry up," Professor Slughorn said, clapping his hands together in an effort to make them move faster. Draco and Hermione glanced at each other, trying not to grin. So far, they were doing a pretty good job of convincing everyone that they were still enemies. Besides, they both enjoyed the banter that everyone else still saw as hateful. Well, everyone but Hermione's close friends and family. She thought of her mother and Bryan, no longer here with them, searching for answers.

They had moved into Grimauld Place only a few days after they had gotten back from China . Hermione was still having trouble accepting the fact that Bryan wasn't her father, that Brett was, and of course she was a pureblood, who was quite rich. Sure, she had been rich with two Muggle dentists, she wondered why Brett had chosen that profession for them, but not nearly as much as her parents had now.

They kept the Muggle accounts in case they ever needed Muggle money, and of course they closed up shop, apologizing for the brusqueness and suggesting new dentists for the families. So everything had been cleared up.

Not really though. What was she supposed to do now? She had told Brett that Bryan would always be her dad and both men had agreed. But should she still call him dad? Or Bryan ? And what was she supposed to call Brett? Still Brett or would he prefer father? She really had no clue. So when they were around each other, outside of class, she continued to call him Professor. Not that he seemed to m ind , he actually seemed to understand.

And Draco, no, Malfoy. And Malfoy, he and Ginny seemed to be doing well. It was much more of a struggle with Ron and Harry, but they would get through it, hopefully. And they didn't even know she spent nearly every night in his arms, warm and comfortable. After their discussion, Ginny seemed to be able to handle it better.

She, of course, knew she had to. Otherwise Hermione wouldn't have helped her through her confusion. Harry had told her that he loved her, and never would he stop loving her, but she had to stay away from him, atleast romantically, still.

He had said that she was his world, she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, to have children with, to grow old with, but she still had to distance herself from him. It hadn't made sense to her of course.

Then Hermione had explained how Voldemort was more likely to go after Ginny should she be with Harry. And did they really want what happened to her parents to happen to them? Because Harry would do that to protect her.

And Ginny had sighed and agreed. In time, in time they would be together. And ever since then, Ginny had decided she was going to tease Hermione about Malfoy. To which she had.

Hermione could hardly stand it, Ginny thought that Hermione was in love with Malfoy, and had come to enjoy it. Day in and day out, she was teasing her, laughing at her, pretending that something he said meant so much more than it actually did. Sometimes Hermione wished that she had never talked Ginny into giving Malfoy a chance.

But he seemed to like it, they had grown on each other in an oddly endearing way. Weaselette and Ferret became endearing rather than hateful and Hermione was hopelessly confused. But sometimes she felt that she rather liked it. Her two best friends getting along together.

Not that Harry and Ronald weren't her friends, it was just that Ginny and Draco had become closer to her. She had found that Malfoy, not Draco, had become sort of her safe haven.

But it still surprised her when he asked her to accompany him to Hogmeade. Not that he actually used the word accompany, nor made it sound so date like, because it wasn't.

A date, that is. No, certainly not a date. Just a friendly trip type thing. Oh who was she kidding? She wanted desperately for it to actually be a date, really, she did. But she knew it wouldn't happen. He didn't care for her in that way, not that she actually should simply because nothing would ever happen between the two of them but still. A girl could hope.

And only hope. She would never tell Ginny that she actually wanted it to be called a date. Especially since she could still feel his lips pressed against hers, his breath devastatingly hot on her skin, his voice so sexy next to her ear. They had an unspoken agreement not to mention what had happened the night she got back.

She took a deep breath again and again as she continued to tell herself it wasn't a date, remembering that night every few minutes so she would have to try and calm herself again.

She had to force herself to remember that he had only kissed her because she had practically made a move on him and he was just getting her back. He wouldn't even have sex with her, that night, because he wasn't going to take advantage of her obvious attraction to him. Because he was a gentleman who didn't care for her that way and he knew it would ruin their friendship if he had.

Sighing, she took one last look in the mirror she had been staring at for half and hour, nodded to herself, smoothing out an invisible wrinkle and walked quickly to her bedroom door.


	17. Actions and Motives

He was standing there, hand poised to knock, as the door suddenly opened.  
"Oh, hello Granger."  
"Hello Malfoy. Good timing?" she asked as he finally brought his hand back to his side. Good timing if it had been ten minutes ago. He'd been practically frozen in the position. Not that he would tell her that, especially since he didn't really know why. Or atleast, he was pretending he didn't.  
"Perfect," he answered, letting his charming smirk light up his face.  
"So what exactly do you want to do today?" she asked, falling into step beside him as they left their rooms together.  
"Oh I don't know, there was never really anything I had to do in Hogmeade. I usually just wandered around. What do you do?"  
"Oh I usually just make sure I have parchment and ink and quills. We always went to Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks. Sometimes I managed to get some time to go to the book store."  
"The bookstore? When do you have time to read? Between all the researching and keeping Potter and Weasly in line, doing homework, and figuring out new spells just to show off in class, you couldn't possibly have time," he said as a smile graced his features. She couldn't help but laugh, attracting many more odd looks that neither had noticed as they made their way to the carriages.  
"I enjoy reading, and all that other stuff, well it isn't all that much work. And I only get farther ahead in class when I haven't any new books to read."  
"Well then, the bookstore, Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks, and the supply shop. Sounds like a packed day to me. " She gently shoved him, causing the both of them to laugh as they made their way into a carriage. Everyone looked around, sharing glances with their friends, wondering what sort of universe they had dropped into where the Gryffindor Princess and the Slytherin Prince were friends, laughing and joking.  
Not that they would ever ask the two out right, but many rumors would be going around.

"Drakie?" an obnoxious voice asked from behind their table.  
"Pansy?" he responded incredulously. She didn't seem to notice Hermione who was trying not to laugh. Not that she succeeded, having to press her hands against her mouth to muffle the sounds.  
"How are you? I haven't seen you much at all since you aren't in the dorms, being the Head Boy and all," her hands were running down his chest, her head in the crook of his neck as she purred her words at him, "And you aren't in any of my classes. What is a girl supposed to do?"  
He was squirming as her hands traveled further and further down his front. Hermione nearly had to leave, watching had become so funny to her she could barely contain it. Pansy 'Pug-faced' Parkinson was trying to… in a bookstore! She had never found anything funnier in her life. Which in all honesty, wasn't too difficult to beat.  
"Well, you could find someone else to try and feel up. I figured you have done that by now, atleast."  
"But Drakie, that would just take all the fun out of it. I like doing this to you, I like the way it makes me feel."  
"Great, yeah can you just, just stop, please?"  
"Please?" she said pulling back, as if she were offended, "When the bloody hell did you start saying please?"  
"Um, since Granger has spent too much time around me, doing Head stuff. Yeah anyways, nice seeing you again. Bye."  
She just stood there, staring at his form as he hurriedly left the store, Hermione nearly falling over her feet in front of him. His hands were on her hips, guiding her to the front, when they had been in the back, and she suddenly stopped.  
"Drakie," she giggled, laying one hand on his chest, "I have to purchase these books before we can leave, but I'll be back, I promise." She fluttered her eyes at him, a gentle smirk on her features before she swayed off to the counter. He watched every movement of her hips as he ran his hands through his hair.

When she finally met him outside of the shop, she burst into laughter, nearly collapsing. He pulled her to him, so that she didn't fall over and drew her into a secluded alley.  
"Drakie, oh Merlin that's great. I can't believe she didn't even notice I was there." Her words just caused him to glare at her.  
"It might have been funny to you but let me tell you, I'd be the happiest man if she never came within a thousand feet of me again." He shivered in disgust as they sat on the ground, leaning against a building.  
"A thousand feet? That's quite a distance for a restraining order. Besides, I thought she was great in bed?" she said as she finally calmed herself to just smiling at him.  
"A restraining order? Probably one of those Muggle things. And honestly I wouldn't know. She's never seen more of me than in my swim trunks. Father had a party one summer and most of us kids spent most of it at the lake. She doesn't even have all that great of a body. Anything a guy might see from the robes is all the robes."  
"Oh, well that's much more information than I wanted." He simply shrugged and stood, offering her his hand. She grasped it as she pushed herself to her feet.  
"The Three Broomsticks now m'lady?" he asked, putting on a false accent, offering her his arm. She slipped her arm through his laughing before she replied in a fake accent, "Why thank you good sir. That sounds lovely."  
They found at the Three Broomsticks Harry, Ron, and Ginny, as well as her parents. She immediately looked around to see Bryan only to fall back in disappointment.  
She slipped her hand into Malfoy's and he squeezed it gently. They moved towards the group, still holding hands, as she trailed behind him. When they got to the table, Hermione felt Draco squeeze her hand once more before she pulled it from his grasp.  
"Hello Mum," she said, almost formally, nodding to everyone else.  
"Hi sweetie, Bryan wanted to come and say hi but he was asked to do something for McGonagall. Anyways, there were a few things I wanted to talk to you about the… jarheads?"  
"Jareds, we're calling them Jareds," Brett said with a smile on his face as he draped his arm across her shoulders. She leaned into him slightly as she continued, "Yes, the Jareds. I think that I might have found something. In a couple of the books, but I'm not sure what it means honestly. Is there someplace we can all talk, and actually hear each other?"  
Draco nodded and signaled to Madame Rosmerta.  
"Hello Mr. Malfoy. What can I do for you today?"  
"Um, can we get two more butterbeers, and also is there an open room, we'd like to all go somewhere private?" he asked as he slipped her a few gold coins. He was leaning close so that he could tell her in her ear, seeing as the place was so packed hardly anyone could hear anything. No one would notice, except Hermione, but she would wait to question him later.  
Madame Rosmerta nodded as her hand dropped the coins into her front pocket, motioning with the other hand to follow her. She led them behind the bar and through a door which opened into hallway of other doors.  
"Any one you would like Mr. Malfoy. You can leave the back way. Let me know if you need anything else. Ta'." And then she whisked around, back out to her other customers.  
"I didn't know Rosemerta had rooms," Brett said as they followed Draco into one.  
"Yeah, not many people do. She really doesn't tell anyone because, well, they're for her very important customers. Like when the minister or any higher ups come, some of the high-esteemed people like my father used to be, and probably Dumbledore and all her good friends."  
"Oh, well, that's nice to know. What did she mean the back way Draco?" Josi asked.  
"In every room, there's another exit. It leads straight to the street, as if you're going out the front door, but in all actuality you can have it bring you into the alley if you really would prefer that. Father does, he seems to hate being seen here." With a shrug of his shoulders, as they were all seated, he said, "So spill."  
"Well, we still have to find the cup and another thing of either Gryffindor's or Slytherin's. We know one is in Africa and the other is in Australia ."  
"Why are you telling us what we already know Mrs. Granger?"  
"Josi, if you don't mind Ginny. And that way everyone knows where we're at. Ok, so everything has been at the place he found it or an important place to him. So what I think is that if it is a Slytherin object, it'll be where someplace that is important to him. If it's Gryffindor, then it'll be where he found it."  
"Ok, but how does that help us? I mean, Mrs. Granger, er sorry, Josi, we don't know which it is, nor anyplace that is important to him, so therein, we're back to square one right?"  
"Wrong Harry. I was going through Brett's books at the house and I know that it can't be anything else of Slytherin's."  
"How in the world could you possibly know that? And what house?" Draco asked a little angrily.  
"The one his parents left him in America ," she said motioning to Brett who wasn't really paying attention as he stared off into the distance with a hard look on his face.  
"And I know that simply because everything that belonged to Salazar Slytherin, beside the locket, was destroyed in the house fire that killed him. He had given the locket to his eldest daughter as a gift when she moved in with her husband. So that means-"  
"No Josi," Brett said as he blinked a few times, turning his head back to her.  
"No what Brett? That all made a good lot of sense to me," Ron said.  
"No, it's something of Slytherin's. It has to be."  
"Why do you say that?" Ginny asked.  
"I get visions of sorts. Kind of like prophecies only what I see I remember and it can change."  
"Still? But I thought that…"  
"And we also thought that I would never get them again after the first battle. I've gotten plenty over the years Josi, I guess it just doesn't want to go and leave me the hell alone. But I saw a cane of sorts. It had Slytherin's symbol on it," he dragged out the last few words as it he was just realizing something. He sat straight up in his seat, stiff with concentration.  
"Wait a minute, wait a minute. Didn't the founders all have something for the school for their houses? And then they made something together with each of their symbols on it?" he asked Hermione.  
"I, uh, well its only legendary. They don't even know what any of the five objects are. In Hogwarts A History, it says that it was a story that some people believe but has never been proven true, no matter the hundreds who have tried. No Brett, I don't think that it's true."  
"And a lot of Muggles don't believe magic is true. They think it's just fantasy." He raised an eyebrow at her.  
"But this is a legend, not a fantasy. They are two completely different things."  
"Hermione, nearly every legend has a truth behind it, just like every good lie is based upon the truth."  
"Just because a lot of them might, doesn't mean that this one is," she mumbled sitting back in her seat, arms crossed over her chest.  
"Well, then why don't we go back and ask them?" Brett suggested as he too leaned back in his chair.


	18. Open Invitation

"Go back… and _ask_ them? How the bloody _hell_ do you propose we do that?" Ron asked infuriated.

"Oh, well, not all of us can go back. The spell only can handle two or three people. It just depends on the ages and such. But it does take a little while to prepare."

"How do you prepare a spell? That just doesn't seem possible."

"Well, Ginny, certain spells need a potion to be drunk before they can be cast, or they need the victim incapacitated. It's actually quite common, especially with ancient spells, and the oldest of the runes."

"Ok then Brett, how long does it take to prepare for the potion?" Harry asked, thinking the man was just pulling their legs.

"Oh, a little over a month. We could go back over Christmas break. Probably around New Year's. Only if we get started right now, but it might be better to wait a week or two after break because, well it would just give us more time to get everything so we don't screw up the potion."  
"Who's going to brew it?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, I'm sure I can Brett. I just need the directions. I'm sure all the ingredients would be at the house yes?"

"Yeah, but you probably won't find all of them in the storage room. They might be with all the, er, other stuff."  
"Other stuff? Is this going to use dark magic?" Hermione asked, standing up and leaning forward onto the table.

"No, no honey. Not dark magic. But the ingredients, well, most of the potions that come from the time this was made, five six hundred years ago, use what might now be considered questionable elements." Josi looked at Brett, wondering if she had explained it right. Hermione would definitely not like it if she knew what exactly the ingredients were. And they couldn't tell Draco because he would tell her and she would refuse to have anything to do with it.

And because Brett had suggested it, she would have nothing to do with him. Neither wanted that.

"Fine then Mum, go ahead and lie. I get it. Really I do. You just don't want me to know that you're using dark magic, which obviously you are, so that I won't dislike Brett more simply because he suggested it.

"But you're wrong because I won't dislike him more. The fact of the matter is, is that this potion could help us defeat Voldemort. And as long as he's dead and gone, I don't care. You should really stop thinking you know me because I don't think you do. You know the girl that comes home over the breaks, with Muggle parents. I'm different as a witch, completely different.

"I hate dark magic, I hate it. But that doesn't mean I won't let someone else use it, someone good who doesn't use it all the time. Someone who isn't using it to destroy, to kill, to do whatever the hell else Voldemort is using it for. I won't hate them for it. I won't.

"Now I have to get back and do some schoolwork. Goodbye." And then she walked out of the door they had come in. everyone looked around at each other, wondering what had happened.

Finally Draco said, "Disliked more? I didn't even know she didn't like you Brett."

"I don't think anyone did," Ginny said quietly.

"Really? I thought it was obvious," Brett replied as he looked at the group of his daughter's friends. After a moment, Draco stood up and said, "I'm going to go too. Nice seeing you again Josi. Anything you might need, my father probably has beneath the wine cellar if you don't have it."

He paused for a moment, wondering if he should ask, after he had halfway turned back to the door, "Would you guys like to join mother and I for Christmas? I mean, I know mother liked you, both of you. And I'm sure she would like Hermione," he turned to look at the Weasleys and Harry, "Your welcome to come as well. Mother said she loves big holidays, always thought that's what Christmas should be about. Its still a month away I know, but just think about it." he directed his last comment at Josi and Brett, before he finally left.

"Granger! Wait up," Draco said as he watched her move down the hill towards Hogwarts.

"Malfoy? Why are you following me?" she asked as she drew her scarf more tightly around her neck.

"I'm going back to school too. You know you shouldn't be walking these streets alone. Who knows who'll pop out from around the corners." He was smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back even as she shook her head.

"You are so strange. So why are you following me, really?" she asked as they continued the long tread back to Hogwarts.

"Well, I sort of just invited Brett and Josi, and well, everyone we were just with, to my house for Christmas."

"_What_?"

"I said-"

"I know what you said, that wasn't a 'what did you say' what, that was a 'what did you just say' what!"

"That didn't make any sense; you said the same thing twice."

"Nevermind Malfoy. Did you _really_ invite my parents, Ginny, Harry and _Ronald_ to your house for Christmas?"

"Well, yes. I asked your parents because Mother is friends with them, well, she used to be anyways. And I couldn't just ask them and not invite your friends, that would just be rude. Of course, they will probably say no, unless we invite the whole Weasley clan, which would be fine by me. The twins were always funny, with all their pranks. And Mrs. Weasley, she always seemed like a good person, otherwise wouldn't Potter like her as much as he does? No probably not.

"And sure, I don't really know about the rest of the family but you like them so surely they aren't horribly annoying, or anything like that. Of course, there's plenty of room at the manor for everyone to have their own room, and if any of the older Weasleys are married, then they can bring their wives or whatever."

"Malfoy will you please stop rambling, and slow down? It would be very beneficial to the conversation if I could actually understand what you're saying."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Just, why did you decide to invite them anyways?"

"Because I figured you wouldn't come unless they were all there," he very nearly whispered as he ran one of his gloved hands through his hair.

"Well, don't you sort of need to invite me first? I mean, what if they all said yes and you didn't invite me? Then where would I go for Christmas?" she asked, laughing at his suddenly horrified expression.

"Oh, oh Merlin."

"What?" she asked him, the remnants of the laughter still on her face.

"I haven't even asked _you_ yet! Merlin I am so stupid!" he exclaimed, hitting himself once on the forehead.

"Well, don't beat yourself up over it," she laughed again, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the double meaning of her words as he had, literally, been beating himself up over it not a minute before. Then he playfully glared at her and replied, "Well then maybe I just won't invite you and you'll have to find something else to do for Christmas."

"Oh I'm sure I can find something. Besides, Hogwarts is beautiful at Christmas, and Hagrid needs someone to stay and visit him."

"I'm sure he can manage. Hey Granger?"

"What?"

"Would you like to spend Christmas with me and my mother? And possibly your friends if they decide to accept?"

"I would love to Malfoy," she laughed as he slung an arm over her shoulder, "And I suppose Hagrid can manage without us."

Dearest Mother,

I have asked Hermione Granger and her parents to join us for Christmas. I would also like to extend the invitation to the Weasleys and Harry Potter. I know how you so enjoy large family holidays and so I was hoping to help you get one.

I know we have not had one as far as I can remember and I thought that maybe we can create one. Hermione is very dear to me and her friends are very dear to her.

May I extend to them the invitation Mother?

Love from,

Draco.

My Dearest Son,

How thoughtful you are. I did not know of your new acquaintances. I would very much like of you to invite them for Christmas. They can stay as long as they like. Those who come from school, well, we can just pick them up at the station.

The Dark Lord has not called on me as of late and I have put up many new security spells and changed many of the codes as well. We shall be safe here.

Bella has not contacted me for the holidays, I doubt she knows they will be arriving soon, so enraptured is she with that evil. I hope of you the best my son, and shall see you at the train station.

Love from,

Mother.

Draco read the letter over many times before it finally hit him. His mother had finally repented the Dark Lord, had finally gone against him without him even noticing. They would be safe; they wouldn't have to worry about killing for Him ever.

Aunt Bella, well, she didn't really matter, she had never loved them. Yes, they had loved her, for it was cruel to not love family, but she had never loved them back. And now, being as enamored as she was with that which they had given up. Well, this was the best.

Smiling, he realized he had still to write Mrs. Weasley to ask that they join the Malfoys for Christmas. He just couldn't think of how to word it. Finally he decided that formally would not be what she wanted; well, not completely formal anyways.

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Weasley,

I would like to for you and your family to join us for Christmas. I have already asked your three children here at Hogwarts to join us. Granted I did not give them much time to answer before I left them.

I have already extended an invitation to Hermione and her parents. They have agreed and wish that you and your family will join us as well. And yes, I mean everyone. Bill and Charlie, and their families, and the twins should they wish to accept this invitation.

Should you and any of your family decline, Mother and I wish to you the happiest of holidays together.

Sincerely,

Draco Malfoy.

"Arthur, Arthur did you see this?" Molly Weasley asked her husband as she picked up the letter brought in by a beautiful snow owl.

"Seen what Molly?"

"Draco Malfoy has sent us invitation!"  
"Hm, he writes quite well."

"Well of course he does, he knows how to write well for formal notes and letters and such. We got sent a formal invitation to join him, his mother, and the Grangers for Christmas."

"Wait, Draco Malfoy has invited the Grangers, Muggles, for Christmas? And now he is inviting us? Molly, are you certain…?"

"Oh, I don't know, we can write Ginny or Hermione. He did say he had already asked them," she said excitedly.

"What does he mean three children? We only have two, Ron and Ginny."

"Well, dear I assume he is including Harry. Oh, what a smart boy. Here comes Hedwig now. That was fast."

"Of, course Molly dear. They wouldn't want to let us wonder for too long."

"It says, 'Dear Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I trust you have received Malfoy's invitation for Christmas. I dearly hope you will accept it. You see, he and I have grown close over the year so far and he so generously asked my parents and I to join him and his mother for Christmas. We have some very important news to share with you, as soon as possible, that cannot be conveyed by letter. We hope to see you there.' And there's a post note from Ginny, 'Mum, I think we should all go. It would be so much fun. Plus Malfoy, he told me his mother loved big family holidays, wouldn't it be nice to help her have one?' oh Ginny dear," Mrs. Weasley laughed as she placed a hand over her heart.

"Well, Molly dear. Would you like to go?"

"Oh, yes, yes that would be lovely. I never thought the boy was bad. I knew he was good, really."

"I suppose you better reply to those letters then. Well, you really only need to accept Draco's invitation. He will probably tell him. We can let the boys know later. I just want to know when we go there and when we leave."

"Oh, they'll let us know Arthur. Now, let me send off the letter, that beautiful owl is sitting in the kitchen still, seems to be simply waiting for response. Then we'll go to bed."


	19. The News

"Mrs. Weasly accepted my invitation," Draco said as he and Hermione lounged in their common the next morning during their free period.

"I wonder how late that got to her," Hermione mused as she leaned against him.

"Oh, probably around eight o'clock. My owl is extremely fast," he continued as way of an explanation, "Either way, I got the reply early this morning and she looked as if she had plenty of rest last night."

"Why didn't she just bring it to you straight away, it's not like you go down for breakfast, or lunch, ever."

"Well I'm sorry if I don't like sitting at my table. Everyone there still thinks I'm the one that killed Dumbledore, or atleast attempted to, and everything is so… I don't like it. And Pansy, because of her I have to surround myself with people I don't think I've ever even liked a little bit. Crabbe and Goyle are always stuffing their faces so I can't really talk to them. Not that they're very interesting to talk to but still.

"And Blaise, well, he's just all dark and creepy, _all_ the time. Its very, well, dark and creepy."

Hermione laughed at his, not so great description and said, "Well then why don't you sit with us? I mean there aren't any school rules against sitting at another table."

"Only you would know," he joked, poking her in the side.

"Of course I would," she laughed as she squirmed in an attempt to get him to stop.

"But I don't think that would work. They've already got rumors going around that I'm controlling you with the unforgivable. And _everyone_ is talking about it, even though it wasn't even a full twenty four hours ago," he said laughing as he finally stopped poking her. She gently hit his shoulder before leaning back on him.

"Well then why not give them more to talk about. Did you curse me or did I curse you?"

"Because no one will think that either of us is acting of our own free will," he replied with a slight bit of anger in his voice.

"Of course not, then it wouldn't be _nearly_ as interesting. Especially since they would want to know why I cursed you. They would think you did it because they're all under the assumption that you're a Death Eater."

"Yeah, why would _you_ curse _me_?"

"Hence the fun in you sitting with us. Ginny wouldn't mind. And if Ronald and Harry did, then they can just get over it. Which, you know next hour is lunch."  
He rolled his eyes as he shook his head, "And are we going to tell them that Mrs. Weasley accepted?"

"Of course, Ginny will be obsessed with knowing. She wants to go so bad, you have no idea. We were talking last night, in her dormitory of course, while we were writing the letter, she wanted to find some way to make her Mum say yes."

"Well telling her you had something very important to tell her and that you were already decided on staying with me and Mother was definitely a good way."

"Well, she decided to tell Mrs. Weasley what you told us about your Mum liking big family holidays. That way she could sort of con her mother into it. Mrs. Weasly loves to help make other people happy. Especially people she doesn't think have been happy in a while and I'm sure she believes that your mother falls into that category perfectly.

"I'm just not sure how Ronald will react to the news. Or anyone listening in to our conversation. I wonder what Mrs. Weasley thought about getting the invite. I mean, your families have never been on good terms and all."  
"Oh, well, that was mostly Father's fault. I know I was horrible but that was only because I wanted to impress Father. And I was jealous but if you ever tell anyone that I will vehemently deny it."

"Of course Malfoy, of course."

He couldn't help but smile back at her when she smiled up at him. It was weird, he would never deny that fact, but he liked the feel of her in his arms at night, the way she smiled at him, curled against him when they sat here, the way her eyes light up when she was excited or captivated, his list could stretch on forever.

When they entered the Great Hall together, everything went silent, every head turned in their direction. Even the teachers looked up at them. He noticed Brett was smiling, along with most of the other teachers. They had both just kept walking towards the Gryffindor table in their comfortable silence as every head followed them.

When they finally sat down, Ginny smiled at him and asked if he wanted pumpkin juice as she had just finished pouring herself a glass.

He had smiled back at her as she passed the jug to him. Silence continued throughout the Hall until Ginny, fed up with it, said, "Oh just go back to your food, nothing to see here."

And instantly everyone turned back to new conversations, and the few snippets they heard involved what had just happened. Ginny laughed lightly before returning her gaze to Draco's.

"So?"

"So what?" he asked smiling back at her.

"What did she say?"  
"What did who say?"

"Ferret!" she exclaimed, looking at him with a 'if looks could kill' face.

"Yes?"

"She said yes?" she grinned excitedly.

"Who said yes to what?"

"Malfoy, what did Mum respond to your invitation? And this time I want a real answer not another dumbass question!"  
"Fine, ruin all the fun. She accepted. On the condition that you all have to be nice to mother and I."

"She gave that as a condition? I highly doubt that Malfoy," Ron said angrily. He did not want not spend Christmas break at the Malfoy's.

"Actually no, she didn't give any conditions Weasley, but it's called having fun, joking. Maybe you've heard of it?"

"Boys, boys, not now. Please?" Hermione said as she played referee yet again.

"Sorry," Ron mumbled, Draco just shrugged at her.

"So, is Bryan coming?" Harry asked.

"Well, I asked him. But he said that he had other plans. He wishes he could come and all, but Remus and Tonks already invited him to their place, along with a few other people. He says he hopes we'll all have fun.

"Personally, I don't think he was really invited already, most people don't invite people this soon before Christmas, but maybe they did." She shrugged as she bit into a piece of buttered bread.

"Maybe he would feel awkward, like he was intruding and all Hermione."

"I don't know Ginny. I just hope he isn't left out or anything, it is Christmas after all."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

They passed through the next few days walking the halls together, laughing, eating meals together, and hearing all the rumors, all the gossip. But they knew that after a while, everyone would realize that something else was much more interesting.

And as the days faded to the final week, there was little gossip about the two of them, everyone having found something else to talk about. No one stared as they walked into the Hall together, no one gave them funny looks as they laughed their way down the halls together, as they worked together, huddled together, during classes they shared.

Everyone but Ron was excited for the holidays, some teachers unable to control their classes as the students chatted away (Professor Flitwick), or were so stern that they didn't hardly speak (Professor McGonagall who still taught transfiguration).

Today was the twentieth. They were to leave tomorrow morning and Hermione could hardly wait as she and Draco patrolled the halls.

"Let's go see Brett." She exclaimed as they passed near his door.

"What, why? We'll see him tomorrow. I'm not even sure if he's there. I mean, he was all excited today during class and he probably wants to be at the house with Josi and all…"

"Well, we could go check," she suggested as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright, fine. Whatever." And then he turned around and knocked on Brett's door. They heard a muffled response and then footsteps.

"Yeah?" he asked, clad in his pajama bottoms and an undershirt, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Hermione wanted to stop by for some reason. I tried to tell her that we'll see you tomorrow, but noooo, she wanted to talk to you now." He shrugged his shoulders as Hermione smiled at him.

"I didn't realize you were sleeping. I'm sorry. Really I just wanted to know how Mum was going to get there."

"Oh, well I'm meeting her at the house and then we're going to Apparate to Draco's. Narcissa gave me the pass codes when I saw her at the Three Broomsticks last week."

"Oh, ok. Well, I'm sorry we woke you. We'll just be going now, goodnight."

"Goodnight," he mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair, turning around and closing the door with his foot.

"See? Didn't I tell you we shouldn't?"

"Well I didn't know he was sleeping," she whispered angrily back.

"It's damn near two o'clock in the morning, of course he's sleeping!"

"Sorry. I didn't realize we'd been patrolling for three hours. Let's just go back to our rooms and go to sleep."

"That sounds like a good idea. Don't want to be sleepy when you meet Mother."

The train ride the next day was filled with laughter and candies, and an extremely sullen Ron. He really did not want to go to the Malfoy's for Christmas, and he was really adamant about showing them.

When they finally reached the train station, Hermione and Ginny got extremely nervous. They didn't know what to think about this woman, who had so graciously allowed them into her home, that they were debating on whether or not to just sit in their seats for the rest off break.

"Girls, what are you waiting for?" Draco asked as he levitated their trunks out onto the platform and had come to see what was taking them so long. He looked at their faces for one moment and laughed, "You're nervous? About meeting mother? That's ridiculous!"

"Well, it may seem ridiculous to you but it is certainly not ridiculous to us!"

"Ok, you two can stop say ridiculous now," Ginny said before she took a deep breath. Standing she reached her hand out to Hermione, "Come on, let's go."

"Hello, hello, your parents are settling down at the house, your brothers as well. Miss Granger, how nice to see you. Come on, come along now." She herded them near the street in the Muggle world.

"Um, how exactly are we getting to your house?" Ginny asked as she came up next to Draco and Hermione.

"Mother rented one of those Muggle contraptions, they called it a limousine. Hermione told me they were called cars, so I really don't know," he whispered back.

"It's called a car generically," Hermione said as she fell back to talk to them, "But there are more specific types such as a truck or a jeep, or a limo, or a semi, and such. And even those get more specific as to make and model, it's not very complicated."

"So she says," Ginny mumbled to herself.

"Here it is, everyone in. it will only take a few minutes to get there. I thought it simpler than trying to Appaperate with only Draco and I. And we wouldn't want anyone to mix up the address and wind up somewhere else by floo. So this was much easier.

"So Hermione," she continued as they all got comfortable in the seats, "How are Brett and Josi? I thought that Josi had died years ago and Brett, he had disappeared. Never for a moment did I think that he had done what he did.

"Nor that you could possibly be their child. But ah, well. I'm sorry, I don't usually talk this much but I am extremely excited. Brett and Josi were good friends that I haven't seen in many years. And it is always exciting to become better friends with people that you should have become friends with a long time past."  
"Mother, breathe. It would help if you managed to last long enough to see them."  
"Oh, sorry, you're right Draco. Ah, we're here!"

"That was fast. Usually it takes much longer than five minutes to get the country side by car," Hermione mused.

"Magic, Granger. Ever heard of it?" Draco laughed as he moved to unload the trunks from the back of the limo. Harry went to help and Hermione very nearly shoved Ron to make him help as well. He needed to remember his manners here.

"I have a question," Ginny asked as she looked up when she stepped out of the car.

"What's that?" Draco said as he slammed the trunk door shut.

"Where's your house?"


	20. The End of the Tour

"What do you mean 'where's my house'?" he asked as he followed her line of sight, dragging out the last word. Then he questioned his mother, "Mother, where's our house?"

"Oh, silly me, I forgot to tell you!"  
"Forgot to tell us what Mother?"

"There's a charm on the house, and the secret keeper is… where is she?" she asked as she put her hands on her hips. Suddenly they heard someone Appaperate behind them.

"Sorry we're late Narcissa. Oh, umm, here." She approached them and handed everyone a piece of paper with an address on it.

"You're their secret keeper?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Oh, yes, yes. We met up in Hogmeade about a week ago. Tightened security on the house and the land, so you should see the house right about now."

A moment later, a palace of sorts appeared in front of them. Hermione, Harry, and the two Weasleys stood in amazement as the pieces of paper they held smoldered away.

"_That's_ your _house_?" Ginny finally managed to get out.

"Yeah. We can go inside now you know," Draco said, self-consciously rubbing the back of his head. The adults were nearly inside the house by the time they started moving.

"It's beautiful," Hermione murmured. He simply nodded as he maneuvered the trunks in front of them down onto the ground in front of the door. A moment later, the trunks had disappeared leaving everyone else wide eyed.

"Where did they go? I've never heard of a spell that makes what ever lands on it, let alone something specific, just up and disappear!" Hermione exclaimed only to hear Draco chuckle.

"I don't think there is Granger. There's a small button there that allows the house elves to know that they need to take whatever is there and bring it in. They snap it to them and then decide where it goes. Simple as that," he said with a smile on his face.

"Oh," she said, "How many house elves do you have? I thought, Dobby…"

"We have three others. Mainly one cooks, one cleans, and the other does whatever it is that needs to be done otherwise. I think this fortnight it's Delia who's cooking, Ellie who's cleaning, and Devon who's doing the other stuff."

"What other stuff would he be doing?" she asked as he opened the door for her, waiting patiently for the other three who were a few feet behind them. Once they had all entered the house, he picked up his conversation again.

"What ever Mother asks of him, retrieving your luggage, dressing your rooms, putting the correct trunk in the correct room, other little things."

"Oh," she said, still stunned at the interior of his home. After a minute he called the house elf.

" Devon ?"

"Yes sir?"

"Would you please show the Weasleys and Mr. Potter to their respective rooms?"

"Yes sir," the elf bowed and motioned for the three teenagers to follow him.

"You," he said as he turned back to Hermione, "Have two options." He didn't tell her what they were as he moved up the opposite staircase as her friends. After a moment a shock, she followed him, sharing confused glances with Ginny across the room. When they arrived at the top of the staircase, he veered down the hallway to his left while her friends and Devon moved to the hallway on the left, seeing as they had come up the right staircase and the others had come up the left one.

"Malfoy? What exactly are my options?"

"Oh, well, you actually have three. You can stay in the other room down this hall, you can go to the one right next to Ginny, or," he suddenly became embarrassed, not that she could figure out why as he mumbled her other option.

"What was that?" she asked as she brought one hand to lift up his chin so that he wasn't looking at her feet anymore.

"You could stay with me, in my room." His words were quiet as he looked at a place above her shoulder. When she didn't answer him, he looked back at her in confusion.

"Well, you don't have to decide right this minute, I just thought, maybe,"

"What if I stayed with you? Could Ginny move down to the other room down here?"

"Oh, yeah sure. If you don't think she would mind. Your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and my mother are around here. Well, actually they're on the floors above us. Actually, my room and the other one are on the top floor, the Weasleys are on this one along with your parents. Mother is the one above them. Then there's another floor that we never use and then my room."

"Why in the world would you have that many floors? And one you don't use?" she asked as she continued to follow him up the stairs, laughing.

"Well, if you want a floor plan," he chuckled with her. Then he decided to give her one.

"The main floor has the large entrance way, the large and small formal dinning rooms and a regular dinning room, as well as a large living room, and a smaller one. Both complete with a bar area of course, the tea room, breakfast room, and a couple lavatories."

"Of course," she smiled as they continued their way up the never ending staircases. She wondered if there was a shorter way.

"The floor beneath that is the kitchen as well as the house elves quarters. Beneath that is an extensive wine cellar with a storage room for my father's not-so-good items, but only the three of us know how to get into it. Above the main floor, which is the second floor, by the way,"

"I can do math Malfoy," she grinned.

"Are four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and these balconies at either end. They show into the living rooms. And a couple unimportant rooms that I don't know what they're called. Pretty much every floor has them."

"Ok, then what?"

"The third floor also has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, but the right side ends in a den and the left into a recreation area. Father never went in there, thank Merlin."

"Why thank Merlin?" she asked, confused as to why he was glad his father had never been into the room.

"It's basically Muggle games, there's a foosball table, a pool table, a poker table with a bunch of chips, and more than a few board games. If he'd've ever seen it, I'd be dead."

"Oh," that seemed to be her word of the day.

"The third floor, which were just about to pass has mother's room, Aunt Bella's room, on the rare occasion she chooses to stay here with her husband, another large guest room which I don't think we have ever used, and Father's office. It's nearly as big as the bedrooms. And three bathrooms, basically every bedroom has its own bathroom."

"Got it, shall I just assume that from now on?"

"I guess, but there is really only two rooms left."

"So what's on this floor?" she asked as they moved from the staircase they were on, up to the next one.

"Oh, the ballrooms,"

"Rooms? As in multiple?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, they each have different acoustics, so it depends on what sort of party we're having."  
"Oh." Yep, it was definitely her favorite word today.

"And there is another room, but I'd rather show you later. If that's ok?"

"Oh, yeah, sure, why wouldn't it be ok?"

"Just making sure. And now, the top floor. My room is this one here," he motioned to the door on their left, "And the other bedroom is the one down there on the very end."

"What are the other three doors?" she asked knowing that they weren't the lavatories.

"Oh, well the one next to my room is where I do all my school work over breaks and such, basically it's my amateur office. The one next to the other bedroom is another storage room. Granted I could never find anything if I tried, but Father always could." He shrugged.

"So then what is the other door for?" she watched him glance at his watch for a moment before he grinned. _Perfect_ she could almost hear him whisper.

"C'mon," he said excitedly as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him. Wondering what could be this exciting, she followed and he dropped her arm. When the door opened she saw another set of stairs and almost winced. He hurried up them as if he was used to walking so many stairs in one trip.

"Where is this taking us?" she very nearly panted. Never once, not even being at Hogwarts, had she walked this many stairs without a long break in between.

"Just a minute!" he said as he stopped, "Close your eyes." She glared at him for a moment before following his command. He moved behind her and slipped his hands over her eyes.

"What are you-?"

"Just be quiet Granger. It's worth it, I promise."

He gently pushed her forward and she thought she felt a door open before a cool breeze hit her. Gasping in surprise, she opened her eyes. All she could see were his palms and she couldn't help but smile. He had definitely known what her instant reaction would be to the cool.

"Sorry, I forgot it would be this cold up here." After a moment it hit her. Merlin how stupid could she be?

"We're on your roof?" but her question sounded more like a statement.

"Yep," she had never heard him so peppy, she wasn't sure if she should be afraid or not.

"One more minute," he said as he guided her further away from the door, "okay," he said as he pulled his hands from her face. She barely noticed the cold stinging as she looked around.

The sun was setting over his land, a million different colors blending perfectly together. Trees stood in the way of the sun itself, causing their shapes to be seen as shadows. She stood captivated by the beauty for a few minutes, as they both stood in silence. When the sun had finally disappeared beneath the horizon she turned back to him.

"Thank you," she whispered and at his confused look she continued, "For sharing that with me." He simply nodded. They stayed there for another minute before a sharp crack brought them out of their world.

"Sir? Mistress would like for Devon to alert you of dinner. It shall be ready in five minutes and you two are expected to join."

"Thank you Devon." She wondered what had caused him to be so polite to the house elf. After a moment his eyes widened.

"Five minutes! We have to go, now!"

And then her wrist was in his grip again, pulling her across the roof and down the stairs.

"Is there no shorter way up and down?" she asked as he continued to follow him quickly down the five other flights of stairs.

"Well, there is a shorter way up, but it isn't up yet so we can't take it down."  
"Oh," two minutes later they were on the second floor, and he slowed. She nearly ran into him as she came down behind him.

"We've still got two minutes and we really shouldn't be out of breath and look flushed when we get there. Mother doesn't like me being on the roof."

"Oh, yes, yes." They paced themselves down the stairs, arriving just as the twins did, into the large formal dinning room.

As they sat down in between Ginny and Charlie, Draco whispered, "Normally we eat in the casual one but this was better for how many people are here." She nodded in understanding.

It was certainly odd to see so much casualness in a formal room. Granted nearly every room she had seen was formal, but this was also an odd grouping.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Malfoy, both of her parents, Bill and Fleur (she was expecting), Charlie, Fred and his fiancé Angelina, George, Ron, Harry, Ginny, herself, and Draco.

Sixteen people gathered together (Percy had not really been invited as Mrs. Weasley decided that as long as he chose to ignore them, he would be ignored, the prat) from so different backgrounds, so different lives.

And yet dinner was delightful, fun, happy, and Hermione could never remember being so content as she was here and now. Draco and Charlie were wrapped in a conversation. She didn't know what about exactly but it might have something to do with dragons. After all, Charlie worked extensively with them, and Draco did mean dragon…

Mrs. Malfoy and her father were in an in-depth conversation and her mother chatter heartily with Mrs. Weasley. It seemed they had rekindled their old friendship without hesitation. Although, with very much surprise.

The only one who was having a bad time was Ron. Harry, the twins, she and Ginny, had all tried to bring him into their separate conversations but he just sat and sulked. Fleur wasn't even able to distract him.

When everyone had finished eating, Hermione grinned at Draco, who grinned back at her. Then she yawned.

"Aw, too tired for dessert?" he teased.

"No," she laughed as he yawned, "Are you?" he just playfully crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Draco Malfoy!" they heard his mother exclaim from the other side of the table.

"Yes Mother?"

"Don't you ever let me see you do that again at the dinner table!"

"Of course Mother." When his mother looked away, he glance back at Hermione and neither could barely contain their laughter.

Dessert was served and everyone chatted after they had finished. The buzz of noise was starting to cause Hermione to nod off. Draco gently touched her arm and asked, "Ready for bed?" she nodded before she turned to Ginny remembering something.

"Did you want to stay in the other room up there with us? I suppose you could stay on the second or third floor, whichever you're on, but just so you know. The room's open for you." Ginny nodded tiredly back at her. She didn't know if that meant Ginny was taking the room or not but then she looked back at Draco who smiled back at her.

He looked at his mother who called for bed. Everyone else sleepily agreed and headed off to their rooms.

"No, no this way Granger," he whispered as she moved to follow everyone else out of the room. Confused she followed him instead. He lead her into another hallway, connecting what, she wasn't really concerned about. He tapped on a wall, in a pattern she would never remember this tired, and the wall shimmered away.

"After you," he motioned, and she moved into the compartment.

"It's an elevator. Brings you to any room in the house, but it takes a bit for it to get to my room when it's here. That's why we had to come down the stair cases. But we can use this from now on if you'd prefer."

"Why are there so many buttons? Should there be only," she paused, attempting to count the floors, but he interrupted her thoughts.

"It brings you to any room in the house, even the roof. Well, not any room, this excludes the storage rooms, but it's pretty cool. It goes upways, downways, sideways and pretty much any other ways you can think of to get to what ever room you want."

"It's the Great Glass Elevator! Only its not glass," she said with a yawn.

"The Great Glass Elevator?" he questioned, repeating her slowly.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," she posed, trying for understanding and when he still looked at her confused she sighed.

"Muggle fiction book. Roald Dahl."

"Oh, I know him: Mother read some of his books to me when I was a child. But I don't remember that one. I thought he was a wizard."

"Really? Well that's interesting. He's one of my favorite authors, even though most of his books are for little kids, I still enjoy them." The elevator stopped and she stumbled into his bedroom for the first time.


	21. Normal Days

"This is your bedroom?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, it's not that interesting," he said confused as to her obvious disbelief and surprise.

"But, but its _red_!"

"Actually it's dark maroon. Is there something wrong with that?" he asked as she stood there still.

"I just, red is Gryffindor. I pictured green and silver and black."

"It's not red, it's maroon," he corrected again, "But I do have black carpet. Does that count?"  
"No, no, and maroon is a shade of red." She finally stepped forward and trailed her hand along the bed frame.

"Its cherry wood. Built the desk and the dresser myself." When she looked back at him, in even more astonishment, he simply shrugged.

"The summers are boring." She nodded and went back to staring around his bedroom. She figured his dresser was in the closet, seeing as it wasn't in the room she could see.

"So, um," she looked back at him as he scratched the back of his neck again in an uncomfortable manor.

"Yes?"

"I'm tired, so I'm going to go change. Then I'm going to sleep."

"Ok."  
"Ok," he said and patted his legs in a pattern for a minute before he moved to the closet and pulled some clothes from a drawer before moving into the bathroom. Taking one last sweeping glance, she moved to her trunk that was sitting at the foot of his bed and pulled out a pair of pajamas.

The next morning she woke with him still in the bed, arms wrapped around her, pressed tightly against her back. Not that she didn't mind it, in fact she enjoyed it, but it was strange. Usually he was up before her and already in the shower. Smiling, she moved to extract herself from his arms, only to have them tighten against her.

Laughing, she tried again only to have the same result.

"Malfoy," she whispered. He replied with a mumble.

"Malfoy you can let me go now. I just want to take a shower." His reply was another mumble. Gently, she tried to pry his hands apart from each other. He only mumbled again and pulled her tighter.

"Malfoy, let go," she laughed as she continued to try and pry his hands apart. After a minute, she felt him begin to stir. So she requested he let her go again. Another minute and she was sitting up with him leaning on his elbow, watching the small of her back. Her skin was enchanting, and he wanted to reach out and touch it.

But she chose then to pull her shirt to cover it and his arm fell back onto the bed. He looked at in surprise. He didn't even realize he was reaching out to touch her.

That was a no-no.

She turned around and looked back at him with a grin on her face. He simply smiled back at her.

"You should listen better in your sleep," she laughed.

"I listen perfectly fine. I just don't listen to what exactly you're saying." He grinned back at her, laughing as well. Today just felt like it was going to be a good day.

And it turned out to be one. They laughed the morning away with the twins, Harry, and Ginny. Ron was still being a grouch.

The afternoon was spent playing quittich. Harry and Draco had been captains. Teams consisted of a seeker and two chasers/keepers. Ginny and Fred were on Draco's team; Ron and George were on Harry's team. Hermione refereed. They were tied after the first four games and even though it was dark, Harry and Draco insisted on a tie breaker, Harry later regretting the choice.

The rest of the night was spent playing games in the game room until well past three when it was decided they should head in. Each day was basically spent having fun and playing games, and snowball fights of course, until Christmas.

When he woke up Christmas morning, he smiled. Even Weasley would have to be happy today. Who wouldn't be?

He'd been all angry and grouchy most of the time, especially when the two had played on a team together. But still, Draco smiled. He gently pulled away from Hermione, who didn't know that that first morning he had been awake the whole time. He hadn't been willing to let her go just then.

When he sat up, he saw her turn her body towards him, physically wondering at the absence of the heat and form that had been there for hours. He watched it every morning. But this time, well it was Christmas after all. So it was okay, right?  
He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers, memories from that long past evening flaring up. She opened her eyes and looked at him with a confused smile on her face, propping herself up on her elbow. She opened her mouth as if to ask him why he had done that.

"Merry Christmas," he whispered as an explanation, not waiting for her to speak. Then he pulled father away from her, smiling still, and moved to take a shower.

She fell back onto his bed, a giddy grin on her face as she thought about his lips against hers. Not only this morning, for she too was thrown into the memories of that long past night.

Then she shot straight up in his bed as his words hit her. Today was Christmas day. Her first Christmas with her real father, first without her dad, and she didn't know what to think.

She heard the shower shut off and he came out a minute later, clad in his boxers. She watched him riffle through his drawers before pulling out a fitting dark green t-shirt and black jeans. She couldn't help but laugh as he held them up so she could see.

"What's wrong with them?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Christmas is supposed to be joyful, not all dark and dreary!" she laughed.

"Well, green is a Christmas color and black isn't dreary, it's calm." She laughed again and through the covers off of her legs, before moving to the dresser.

"Let me just," she paused, "You don't do formal do you?" she asked.

"No, no way. Father insisted on it but since he wasn't always here on Christmas morning, we just changed when he was coming back here."

"Good, then," she moved a few things out of the way and pulled out a pair of plaid pajama pants and blue sleep shirt.

"P.J.'s?" he asked as he pulled them from her hands, "Why?"

"Well, I'm wearing mine, the boys and Ginny will be wearing theirs, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley will be in theirs and I know Mum will be in hers. It's a part of Christmas, Malfoy, just do it."

"Fine," he grumbled as he pulled on the pants and shirt, "Happy?"

"Yes, now let's go wake up Ginny and everyone."  
"You don't wait for them to get up? That makes no sense."

"It's another part of Christmas Malfoy, tradition you know?"  
"No, I don't."

"Well, just pretend you do and follow my lead."

"I can do that."

"Good," she smiled back at him. She pulled open the door but turned around, only to find his chest right in front of her face. After a moment he stepped back.

"Why did you stop? I thought we we're going to wake everyone up?"

"We are, I just want to let you know that we have to be very sneaky about it. Only wake up one person at a time so they can help us wake everyone else up."

"Ok."

"Ginny first."

"Ok."

She turned around again and moved to the bedroom at the end of the hall way with a devious smile on her face. She opened the door very slowly, peering inside. Seeing her friend sleeping peacefully she pushed it open fully and stepped inside.

Then she screamed.

Ginny shot straight up in bed at her friends scream, panicked. Then she laughed.

"Serves you right for interrupting my sleep. Although I figured it would be Fred or George. Not you, oh hi Malfoy."

"Is it normal to be drenched by a bucket of water when you're waking people up?" he whispered to Hermione as he nodded to Ginny.

Laughing at him, Ginny replied, "With us Weaselys it definitely is. See, some of us like to sleep in, presents later."

"You were the one who woke me up last year! I was simply trying to get back at you!"

"I did the same thing to her last year, only she was sleeping in bed and I just poured water from my wand on her. It was pretty funny."

"For you! But anyways, do you know how we're going to get everyone else up?" Hermione asked as she finished drying herself off.

"Oh that's easy. Can you help me make puppies?"

"What?"

"Make puppies? Why do you want us to make puppies?" Draco asked causing Ginny to grin wider.

"Easy way to wake everyone up, without then getting all angry. Well, super angry."

"What do dogs have to do with making people wake up?  
"Well, they like to lick people's faces when their sleeping. Which usually wakes someone up." Smiling, Hermione nodded her assent.

When everyone came down to the tree in the larger living room, each holding a puppy of a different color, different type, some were smiling and laughing, others (Ron) were angry.

"So I wouldn't mind waking up like that every Christmas," Charlie said, "Where did you three get them?"  
"Well, they aren't _real_," Hermione said, "Watch." She pulled out her wand and aimed it at Ron's chocolate lab. With a flick and a twist, he was simply holding a chocolate bar.

"Much better than a puppy," he grumbled. To which everyone laughed. A moment later the puppy was back and he put it on the floor. Hermione, smiling, called it to her. It ran to her and climbed into her lap, barking its cute little barks, and licked her face many times.

When she fell backward in an attempt to get it to stop as she told it to stop many times, Draco pulled it from her hands as they tried to push it away.

"Don't do that," he chuckled to it as he pulled it into his lap. It barked at him and settled into his lap.

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked amazed. She had never been able to control a dog, hence why her parents had never let her have one. He shrugged.

"I told it to stop?"  
"Well so did I but it didn't stop," she exclaimed confused.

"Well maybe it just likes me better. Besides I've always been good with animals."

"So who's for opening presents?" Fred asked. Everyone agreed.

Brett was watching everyone open presents, a glass of orange juice in his hands. Josi was playing with a golden retriever and he had a black lab sitting in his lap, content to simply be pet. Every one was enjoying their morning with the dogs and their gifts when Mrs. Weasley suddenly exclaimed, "We all need some breakfast!"

When many heads nodded in agreement Josi stood and placed her puppy on the ground at her feet.

"So, what does everyone want?"  
"Oh, let the house elves take care of it," Mrs. Malfoy said as she waved her left hand, her right holding tightly to her cup of tea.

"No, it's Christmas. They deserve a day off. And besides, I miss cooking big meals." Mrs. Malfoy just shrugged at her and continued petting her Canadian Eskimo.

"How about some fried eggs?"

"And toast!"

"And hashbrowns!"

"And pancakes!"

"That's your cue Brett," Mrs. Weasley laughed, "Would you like some help there Josi?"

"That would be wonderful Molly," she said and then pulled Brett to his feet, "You have pancakes to make." Everyone laughed as he simply smiled and followed the two women down to the kitchen.

The rest of the day was spent with everyone together. Mainly having snowball fights. Some were with two teams, some had three and four, others simply every man for himself. And of course, Josi and Molly made a delicious Christmas dinner, breakfast having been well worn off. Hams and turkey and gravy and mashed potatoes, and a million other things.

That night, as they were lying down to sleep Draco sat up and flicked on the lights. She sat up and turned around to face him.

"What are you doing?"

"Did you think I forgot you?" he asked as he pulled a box from his bedside table's drawer. She looked at the box, then up at his face, then back to the box.

"I just, I didn't, with everyone there," he stumbled over his words as she took the box slowly from his hands. She had been hurt when everyone had received a gift from him besides her. Yes, even Ron. She had been very careful not to show it to him though. Even when she had given him his gift, a beautiful black book. The title was engraved in gold, _The Complete Collection of Roald Dahl._ Which was exactly was it said, every story ever published by Roald Dahl, in one extremely thick book.

As she peeled the paper from the box she tried not to cry. She felt horrible for thinking that he had simply forgotten about her.

He watched her hands tremble, saw a tear fall from her down turned face and watched as it hit the paper, instantly absorbed. He reached his hand to her cheek and gently lifted her face. He saw the tears brimming in her eyes and watched as they started to finally break through as he moved closer to her. Without once breaking their eye contact he pressed his lips against hers again. Both of their eye fluttered closed again and he could taste the salt of her guilty tears.

When he pulled back it was only for a moment, to look her in the eye again as he hovered an inch from her. Then he took the half opened box from her hands and set it on the table behind her. She watched as it left her hands, but was unable to watch where he set it as she moved her eyes back to his.

And then his lips were pressed against hers again, her back pressed against the mattress, his front pressed tightly against hers. His lips were soft, but his hands were velvet as they moved along her frame, gently touching parts of her skin that weren't covered.

She felt as if she would die when he started to move her shirt up slowly. His lips moved from her lips to her neck, her shoulders, and she felt her eyes nearly roll into the back of her head when he gently bit above her left breast then touched his tongue to it, to soothe the spot.

And then she heard someone knock on the door. Her eyes flew open and his lips, his hands stopped moving. They waited in silence a moment, only to hear the knocking more persistent, louder. As if in a struggle, he pulled his body from hers and moved to the door. When he opened it, Ginny said,

"Malfoy, we need to talk," her eyes wide in surprise, her hand firmly grabbing his arm and pulling him out of his room.


	22. Cold

Ginny was walking up the staircases to her temporary bedroom. She wasn't in the mood to take the weird elevator thing. And she really didn't feel like passing all the boys' rooms. So here she was, walking up the wrong side of the house, mind wandering nowhere, when she heard them talking.

Normally, seeing as they were the adults and in a bedroom together, she would have rushed up the stairs to the next floor. But she only heard a single sentence and she had to hear the rest.

"Brett, why can't you just tell me who my son is?"

The words were heart stopping. Hermione had a brother? And her mother didn't know who he was? That could only mean one thing. So her mind jumped to a conclusion, doesn't everyone's? But it was the only possibility. Because he hid them right after Hermione was born, and someone would have said something before if they had had another child before.

So that all meant Hermione had a twin brother. Her heart was racing, her mind running so fast that she only caught the last half of what he said.

"-tell you."

"Why not? Don't you think I have a right to know?"  
"Of course you do," his voice paused slightly, "But I don't want him to know. It wouldn't be good for him to know."  
"I won't tell him dammit! I won't say a goddammed thing to him! Do I even know him? Do I? Because if I don't know him then I can't tell him can I?"

"Oh, you know him Josi, you know him."

"Does he know he's a wizard?"

"Oh yes, he knows. The whole world knows." There was silence for a minute and in that time; Ginny was finding it difficult to concentrate, to stop her mind from putting everything together.

"Is he here with us?" the voice was barely audible, the words almost hard to make out through the wall the voice so trembled.

"Yes." this time, his voice was tense, as if he knew she would figure it out. But he could still stick by his word of not telling her who it was.

"Harry?" although there was no difference to the voice, Ginny felt as if the word had been shouted in her ear that was pressed against the wall.

Then there was nothing. She waited for another few minutes and there was silence. Finally, taking a deep breath, she turned and ran as quietly as she could up the stairs. When she reached her floor, she passed Malfoy's room. Unable to figure out something else to do, she knocked on his door.

After a minute or so, she knocked louder, more hurriedly. When he opened the door, she felt a bit of clam wash over her.

"Malfoy, we need to talk," she said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him from the room.

He looked over his shoulder in confusion, back at Hermione who just shrugged and stood from the bed. He watched her close the door as Ginny dragged him along to her room.

"Merlin Weasley, what's the hurry?" he asked as he finally ripped his arm from her grasp.

"I just heard, and the whole, with the, no sense at all," she said as she flung her arms around in big gestures.

"Exactly," he interrupted, "You're making no sense at all. Stop, rewind, play much slower." She took a deep, shuddering breath and he pushed her down by her shoulders to sit on her bed.

"Ok, so I was coming up the stairs, and I heard, I heard Brett and Josi talking. I know, I know, wrong side of the house. I just didn't want to take the elevator and I didn't want to deal with the boys."

"Ok, so what were they talking about?"  
"That's what makes no sense. Josi asked what he did with her son,"  
"Her son?" he interrupted.

"Yes, now let me finish. Basically the conversation went, he couldn't tell her, and then she asked a few questions which he said were right. The whole conversation was just weird and with the fact that no one has said anything about them having another kid before hand, and since they couldn't have had another kid afterwards, which leads me to assume she has a twin."

"And you couldn't wait to tell me this in the morning?" he asked, surprised that Hermione could have a twin, but more pissed off that she had interrupted… well, something he considered much more important.

"Well because the last thing I heard was her suggesting it was Harry, and then everything sort of came together for me. It does make sense. I waited but they didn't say anything else, so I don't know if she's right or not but I'm pretty sure she is."

"How?"

"Well, she asked if she knew him, Brett said she does. So that there limits it, and then she asked if he was here in the house, and he said he was. It couldn't be you or any of my brothers, which means it has to be Harry.

"They have the same birthday, his parents died all that time ago,"

"You're right."

"What?"

"You're right, not only is that all right and everything, Brett told me that there were complications with the Potter's son. They really believed that Josi and her daughter died and that there son had pulled through. When Josi and her children lived and their son died. Ginny, what do you want to do?"  
"I don't think we should tell them, but I'm sorry, I had to tell someone. I obviously couldn't tell her or Harry, and you can't trust my brothers with something so important. And I definitely couldn't tell any of the adults. Besides that, I trust you. Almost as much as I trust Hermione." He nodded his assent and stared off out the window for a while. Then he stood.

"Goodnight Ginny."

"Goodnight Draco." And then he left.

As he closed her door, he knew he wouldn't be able to talk to Hermione anymore tonight. And he definitely couldn't pick up where they left off. Going anywhere inside the house was not going to do him any good. He needed air and he knew just the place to go. He moved slowly up the stair case and gasped as the cold hit him.

Sure, he was wearing pants, but pajama pants aren't very good at keeping in the warmth when its ten degrees outside.

Hermione was worried. Malfoy had left nearly an hour ago with Ginny and he hadn't come back yet. Surely what ever she had to talk about wouldn't take this long. Sighing she moved out the door and stood outside Ginny's bedroom. She knocked once and heard Ginny call, "Come on in."

"Ginny, I, where's Malfoy?"

"Hmm? Oh he left about thirty minutes ago. I though he went back to his room."

"No, no, well, goodnight."

"You want some help finding him?"

"No, I think I know where he is."

"Goodnight," she said as her friend closed the door. Sighing, she climbed into her bed and flicked the lights off.

She went back to their room and pulled on one of her jackets, grabbing two of his, and went to the door to the roof. Taking a deep breath, she pulled it open and walked swiftly up the staircase.

When she saw him, he wasn't shivering as he looked out across the landscape. When she called his name he turned and looked at her, lips blue with cold.

"You're freezing," she whispered as she stepped next to him and handed him his jackets. When he took them from her, she felt how cold his skin was.

"Malfoy, come on. Let's go."

He simply shook his head at her.

"Draco, please?" she asked as she grabbed his wrist. He drew it back swiftly from her, feeling as if her skin were on fire.

"Yeah, sure." And then he walked past her towards the stairs. When they finally got inside his room, he was starting to shake from the differences in heat. She watched as he took off his jacket anyways. After a moment she said, "Draco, take off your clothes."

"Wha-what?"

"Take off your clothes, your going to freeze to death if you don't."  
"Aren't clothes supposed to help keep you warm?" he asked as he watched her begin stripping, "What are you doing?"  
"Sharing body heat you idiot. Take off your clothes or I'll do it for you," she commanded. Sighing, he began taking off his shirt. He watched as she dropped her pants to the floor. Then she climbed into the bed, pulled the covers to her chest, and then her shirt was gone.

"Keep on your boxers. Actually, you can change those. They're probably pretty cool." He nodded and walked into his closet, closing the doors behind him and changed into a new pair of boxer shorts.

She was still lying in his bed, clad in only her panties, he realized, and he felt his body shake even more. He hadn't realized how cold he really was as he climbed in next to her. When he was flat against the mattress, she turned and lay her body across his, wrapping her arms beneath the bend in his back, intertwining their legs, and laying her head on his shoulder.

He shuddered even more as he felt his body start to heat up. And they fell asleep that way, long after he had stopped shivering.


	23. It's Gotta Be You

"Come on Granger, I want to show you something," Draco said as she opened his present the next morning after they had both dressed.

"Just hang on a second Draco," she laughed. Smiling he waited until she had pulled the last piece of wrapping paper off of the velvet box. She stared at in a moment before she looked back at him.

"Just open it Granger."

"Oh, that's beautiful. Thank you Draco." She was staring at a silver locket, in the shape of an oval, with some very old carving on it.

"That's not the best part. Watch," he pulled it out of the box, holding it flat in his palm, and faced it towards her. A moment of silence and she said, "What was supposed to happen?"

"Hang on, let me open it. There we go," and staring back at her was herself, from a moment earlier, eyes wide in wonder.

"It takes pictures?"

"Yep, all you have to do is want one and it'll take it. You can even get bigger ones from it and all. Plus you can put any pictures you have on it, Muggle or magic, from whenever."

"That's amazing. How do you get rid of them?"

Laughing he replied, "Just ask it to get rid of them."

"Oh, ok," a moment later, she was hugging him, locket still in hand. She didn't notice that it tool a picture of the two of them itself.

"Ok, so now I want to show you something."

"Ok, what is it?" she asked.

"It's a surprise Granger." Smiling he led her into the elevator and pressed a button. Not that she knew where they were going, but she was extremely giddy.

When they finally reached the room, he covered her eyes with his hands. He guided her out of the elevator and into the room. She liked whatever it was she smelt, she recognized it as a place she loved. He guided her further into the room before he pulled his hands away.

Before her were hundreds of the biggest bookshelves she had ever seen, not one with an opening.

"There must be hundreds of thousands of books here," she breathed as she stepped away from him.

"Millions. Every book anyone from my family, in its entire existence, is here."

"Oh wow," she was damn near speechless.

The rest of winter break flew by, school jumping in to take its place. They were back to researching, back to learning, and they were finding it was not nearly as fun as Christmas at Malfoy Manor. Hermione had brought books back from their library in the hopes that they might help the researching.

Josi had told her when they were leaving that the potion was ready and that anytime they were ready, they could decide who would go back. She had simply nodded and hugged her mother fiercely.

It was January tenth when they finally crowded together in the Head's Common Room again. Brett had brought the potion, saying Josi had given it to him before they separated.

"Ok, so if they did make the cane, then that would mean that we have to find it and Hufflepuff's cup."

"Yes, but Draco, how do we know that Voldemort found it?" Brett asked.

"Fine, then ask Gryffindor if there is anything important to him that he would like for his family to keep for forever."  
"Ferret, you don't just ask someone that," Ginny said as she shook her head.

"Maybe you don't Weaselette but that doesn't mean I don't."  
"Malfoy, just shut up," Ron said angrily. He was still being a jerk.

"Whatever, Ronald could you atleast try to be nice? Please? Now, we have to figure out who's going back."

"Ok, so obviously, either Brett or Josi or even Bryan would have to come with us, well, the person going anyways. And then we could all draw straws or something," Harry suggested.

"Why do one of us have to go?" Brett asked.

"Well, it'll probably be easier if they have someone their age right?" Draco said.

"Draco, the founders were no more than twenty when they became the founders," Brett said.

"Oh."

"Well, how are we going to figure out who's going then? I thought one of them would be going simply because, well, it just seems like the thing to do. How do we choose between us?" Ginny asked.

"I like the drawing straws idea," Brett said as he leaned back on the couch.

"Me, too. Shortest goes or longest?" Hermione asked.

Draco turned to Ginny and they did a quick round of rock-paper-scissors which Ginny won. She said, "Shortest."

"Ok, Brett will you?" Harry asked. Nodding, Brett drew his wand from his sleeve and five sticks appeared in his hand.

"Ladies first," he said nodding to Ginny and Hermione. Hermione being the closest drew first, then Ginny. Harry and Ron went next, leaving Draco to be the last.

When everyone showed their sticks, it was quite obvious Draco's was the shortest.

"Ok, well, I can talk to Bryan . Josi is busy doing something for the Order and Bryan and I got to talking about this last weekend."

So it was settled, Bryan and Draco would go back to the founder's and ask them about the cane thingy.

Somehow, it seemed so much simpler and, well, less crazy in their time.

"So what do we do?" Draco asked Brett as he and Bryan stood in his bedroom.

"You drink the potion, touch your wands together, and think of the time period you want to go back to, the people you want to be near."

"And it just takes us there?" Bryan asked looking at the bottle in his hand suspiciously.

"Yeah. It just takes you there."  
"Alright, how do we get back?" Bryan continued.

"You just do the same thing. And only one of you has to think of the time you want to go to."  
"Ok, so one year after Hogwarts was founded?"  
"We don't need a specific date?" Draco asked incredulously.

"No, not everything has a specific year, and there are all the different calendars, but if you have a specific date that works too, but you have to specify which calendar."

"Oh, ok." he turned to Bryan and took out his wand after taking off the top of his vial. Bryan copied him and touched their wands together.

"Bottom's up," Bryan said and they both downed their potions thinking of one year after Hogwarts was founded.

"This is so weird," Draco said as he looked around the room they were standing in. it was the room they had just left, only much, much different. Different colors, different arrangement, different furniture, different everything.

"I agree. I assume the founders must be near by," Bryan said as he looked around as well. They both heard footsteps and shouts outside the door and looked at each other panicked. Both jumped when the door slammed opened and revealed a very angry looking girl. Her shouting behind her trailed off as she saw them.

"-and just because," her final word slow and quiet. Then, "Who are you?"

"Um, well, I'm Bryan and this is Draco," after a pause of looking at him, Bryan decided to lie, "And he's my son."

After a momentary pause, Draco took it in his stride and approached the girl, hand held out, "Pleasure, Miss…"  
"Patil. What are you doing in my chambers? It's improper for a man to be in a woman's chambers, lest they be married, and I can assure you, I am not married to either one of you, sirs." She was looking at his hand as if it were dirt on her shoe. Ever so slowly he dropped it.

"Our apologies Miss Patil, we were simply looking for any of the founders, and we lost our way." Bryan 's words were an attempt to break through the awkwardness. An attempt that definitely didn't work.  
"That is very well, but you would need the password to enter I haven't told anyone the password, having made it up but moments ago."

"Well, how else do you suppose we got in here?" Draco asked.

"Well, I, sir, you are being extremely rude. I ask you to leave my chambers at once; I hope you find an escort to whomever it is you wish to see. Goodday, sirs," she finished as they moved out the door. Draco turned and bowed to her, the way he had seen his grandfather do it many years ago.

"Our apologies again, Miss. " She simply nodded and shut the door in his face. He stood up right as he turned to see Bryan giving him an odd look.

"What?"

"Bowing? Why did you just bow to her?"

"I figured that's what they do in the old times right? I figured if she didn't want a handshake, then maybe that would be better. Saw my grandfather do it a lot before he died, _Dad_," he rolled his eyes as he said the last word.

"Hey! I figured it would be a good cover story ok? We're descendents coming to see if our forefather's really were as amazing and smart as the world holds them to be."

"Fine whatever." As they rounded the corner they heard people talking in hushed voices and the light patter of feet.

"You really can't expect us to believe that can you? It is simply foolishness; no man would… oh, Goodday sirs. May I ask who you are? For I have not seen thee before this moment."  
"I am Bryan , and this is my son Draco. We are looking for the founders of this great school."

"Ah! Well, may I ask what business you have with us?"

"It's, well, private." He looked pointedly at the young man next to, he assumed, Gryffindor.

"Well, scurry off then, we'll continue this later. Godric Gryffindor, now, may I ask what is it you would like to speak about?"  
"Well, actually, sir, would it be possible to talk to all four of you?" Draco felt strange listening to the man, even weirder trying to speak like him.  
"All four of us? Why certainly. Would you like to accompany me to our meeting room?"

"It would be our pleasure, thank you sir," Bryan was finding it just as weird to try and talk to these people.

They walked mostly in silence to the chamber room behind the GreatHall**. **When they entered they were heartily introduced by Gryffindor to the other three. Draco guessed they were three or four years older than himself.

"What is it you would like to speak to us about?" Slytherin asked them in a creepy deep voice.

"Well, see, the thing is…" Draco stumbled, unable to express it in a way that made sense, or wouldn't get them thrown out.

"We're your some bunches great grandchildren, him one more then I of course, and see, we came to see if you were as great and grand as history says you are. We think you're better, but we wanted to know for ourselves."

"Which of us?" Ravenclaw asked.

"All of you. We were also wondering about things you may have created for the school. Each of you your own object, and then one for the four of you. Father doesn't think you did, but I figure if you've got the power, why wouldn't you have used it?"

"Oh, oh yes we did," Hufflepuff giggled as she clapped her hands together a few times, "I have a cup, and Godric made a sword, Salazar, you made a locket right? And Rowena, well, you're just a right vain lady. She made a sculpture of herself, you see. And together we have this stick. Although, I don't understand why, I mean when we get old and we need it, well, who will get to use it?"  
"That's a very good point Helga, but you see, relations, I want to know how you got here. Surely, time travel is not possible, even for wizards." Apparently Salazar was skeptical.  
"Actually, it's not that hard. Wizards and witches alike can do it; we have time turners that let you go back hours, up to a few days. But we took a potion and simply thought of the time we wanted to go to."

"That is amazing," Godric said.

Draco shrugged before he said, "Do you think, maybe we could have a look at it?"  
"At what?"

"The stick, Madam." Hufflepuff giggled again, "Of course, of course," and then she summoned it. Draco watched as it flew out of a wall that opened in the back. When he saw it, Bryan whispered, "It's beautiful. Thank you for showing us."

She simply nodded and Slytherin gave her a dirty look.

"Well, thank you for your time, we must be going now."

"Oh, so soon?" Ravenclaw asked.

"Yes, you see, we don't know how long we'll have been gone back in our time, and we wouldn't like anyone to worry. Goodday, and it was simply a pleasure to meet you." Draco nodded at his 'relations' as Bryan dismissed them.

A few moments later they were outside of the Head's Common Room again.

"You ready?"

"Let's get the hell out of here Bryan ; I'm not sure I like it."

"Gives you the creeps too?" he asked as he took the bottle from his pocket and unscrewed the lid. Draco did the same and they touched there wands together.

"Completely. Cheers," and they tossed back the vial, touched their wands together and thought of the moment they left.


	24. Four Words

Brett had just watched them disappear when they reappeared.

"Bloody hell!"

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," Draco said as he stepped away from Bryan .

"That was fast, so did you find out anything?"

"Hm, oh yeah, they made it. They had it here at Hogwarts, in a hidden wall. Doubt it's still there."

"Why don't we go find out then?" Brett asked.

"Yeah, we'll go do that. But first, I want to take a nap."

"Me too Draco, but I think we should take care of this first."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Let's go."

They found that there wasn't anything in the secret wall anymore.

"So we can safely assume that Voldemort has gotten it. And used it obviously."

"Yeah, can I go take a nap now?"

"Sure Draco, we'll talk later." Draco only nodded at Brett before he left the room and went into Hermione's room for a nap. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept in his own room here.

The weeks passed by and soon it was Easter Break. Hermione and Draco went to his house to continue researching through his vast library while the others went to the Weasley house.

It was on this break that Snape's true allegiance was revealed. He had arrived at Grimauld Place , batter, bruised, bloody, and calling for Harry Potter. Bryan had immediately come to help him, sending Josi for Harry. Snape had found that Voldemort had placed one of the Horcruxes, not that he found out which one, nonetheless he found that one was at an abandoned wizarding settlement near King's Cross, Australia.

So now there was one left to find the location of. Harry had decided to go and destroy it, Brett going with him to help him with finding all the traps. They had returned a day before everyone was set to return to school, the cane no more than a pile of gems and slits of gold.

Brett put it where ever he put the other pieces, having asked Harry if he could store them safely away. They were to continue researching, hoping to find a place that Voldemort would have placed Hufflepuff's Cup.

A woman named Maria was nursing Snape back to health, but said it might take many months simply because of all the curses he had been hit with by Voldemort. It was a miracle he had made it out alive.

The days and weeks would fly by until there was only a week of school left. N.E.W.T.s had been taken, and everyone was antsy. The attacks had gotten worse, been more frequent, and each coming closer and closer to Hogmeade.

We find here Hermione and Draco, sitting together on their couch, as they had so many times before. Simply laughing and talking as they held onto each other. Every morning, since Christmas, Draco had woken her with a kiss, and kissed her goodnight.

"Draco?"

"Yes Granger?" she noticed how he never called her Hermione, and how she could no longer call him Malfoy.

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"It's always Granger with you."

"It is your name isn't it?"

"According to my parents yes, but I do have another name you know."

"I know, _Jean_," he chuckled as she gently hit his shoulder.

"Draco…"

"Hermione, I know that's your name, I just, oh I don't know. It's strange to call you that."

"Strange?"

"Yes, you've always been Granger, changing to Hermione would be odd. Almost hard, even."

"Well you've always been Malfoy and now you're Draco. Would you atleast try for me?"  
"I suppose I can. Now what's really bothering you? You've been a little strange since Easter."

"Hm? Oh, well I heard Mum and Brett talking, on that last day we were there is all."  
"What were they saying?" Hermione hesitated, not knowing whether she should tell him or not. She had been thinking about telling Ginny. But then, Ginny had been more distant for quite a while.

"Draco, I heard them talking about me having a brother. I don't know if I should believe them. She said something about being glad her son was safe, well, safer than he was before. I just don't know what to think. Because, when I thought about it… oh Nevermind. You wouldn't believe me anyways."  
"I'll always believe you Hermione, yep, still weird. But you know you have a twin?"

"Twin? Why would you…jump to… twin? You knew, you knew and you didn't tell me!" she said as she sat up, pulling away from him.

"Listen, Ginny found out on Christmas, that's why she dragged me away. She obviously couldn't tell you, so I was the next best thing. She decided you have a twin. She also decided who it was, and well, I agree with her."

"Harry."

"Yes, we decided that he was the only person it could be. How did you figure it out?"

"Same way you did I suppose. I mean, Harry is one of the few people that she knows, not to mention a wizard who is my same age, plus, I remember Brett saying something about there was possibility Lily's son would die. Well everything sort of just fell into place. But I, I'm not, should we tell him?"

"I think that's something we would have to ask Josi and Brett about. Not to mention, we would have to consider the way that would affect him. I think it really depends on the situation."  
She sighed deeply as she stood and held her hand out to him, "You're right."

"I usually am," he smirked at her.

"No, not really." He looked at her with stunned eyes before she burst into laughter. Apparently, he didn't find it too funny.

When she moved to go to her room, he held her steady. She looked back at him in confusion. He simply tugged her to his bedroom.

"What are we doing?"

"Going to sleep, what else would we be doing?"  
"But, we, I, you…" he suddenly turned and she collided into his chest. Pulling back, he leaned down and looked her directly in the eyes, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"Hermione, there's something I want to tell you. Something that I'm not sure if I really should tell you. But I think that if I tell you and you don't like it, then it would be awkward for us. I'd rather it be awkward in here than in there because even if you don't like what I want to tell you, I hope it can still stay relatively the same between us.

"It would be extremely difficult for me, I think, to change anything. Especially going to sleep. I really don't want that to change. At all."

"So what do you want to tell me?" her heart was shattering inside her chest as it pounded against her ribs.

He opened the door and she followed him inside, not knowing what is was he wanted to say. Fumbling to turn on the light, he tried to take a breath. Tried to calm himself. He really wasn't sure if he should tell her especially now.

She had just told him she thought Scar Head was her twin, and he had agreed with her. Was now really the best time to tell her? Could she handle it?  
_Of course she could,_ he argued with himself, _she _is_ Hermione Granger._ With the light on, he turned back around to look at her. She was smiling gently at him as she sat on his bed.

"Draco, just tell me," she said lightly after a few moments of silence.

"Granger," he stopped himself and started over.

"Hermione, Hermione, I think, no, no I know that I... that I am," oh was now really the time to tell her? Was here really the best place to tell her?

She could see his nervousness, could see that he was backing out, backing down.

"Draco," she stood and pulled him to the bed to sit beside her. She left her hand on his arm and brought her other one to his face. He was looking down at his feet again.

"Why is it that when ever you don't want to say something, but you know you should, you always look at you feet?" she whispered as she moved his head to look at her.

"Hermione, I love you."

There, he said it. The words were out and there was nothing he could do to take them back. If she didn't like it, he could lie, say he was simply tired, say it was-.

His thoughts were interrupted by her lips pressing solidly, softly against his own. He immediately sank into the kiss, pushing her so they were lying on his bed, and he was on top of her. Bodies pressed tightly together.

He had a flashback to Christmas, holding her, touching her. Loving every soft curve, the sear of her skin. He remembered the way she had simply ordered him to strip, as she did the same. The way she had covered his shivering frozen body with her own, and simply held onto him.

Her eyes were closed, in what he didn't know, but he could hope it was bliss, pleasure. Smiling, he pulled back gently from her. She opened her eyes in confusion.

"I love you," he whispered. His smile was warm and gentle, and she knew the truth. She loved how the words sounded in her ears, the way his voice wove the meaning into the words themselves.

"I love you, too." Her words made him smile even more, and then he gently kissed her mouth again and settled in beside her on the bed. On his side, he wrapped an arm around her, snuggled in close, and laid his head right next to hers.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked, feeling very much deprived.

"I'd like to remember tonight for one reason. Just that you told me you loved and I told you I loved you. Nothing more."

She was silent for a moment before she nodded in agreement.

_One thing at a time, one thing at a time,_ she thought.


	25. Fall To Pieces

Today was graduation, the day Hermione had begun her tale. Today was graduation, the day she would end her tale. She and Draco were each given the opportunity to give a speech. He declined, she did not.

She told them how darker times were likely to come. How they had to prepare themselves for the real world. Life would be different, they weren't coming back. Everyone have difficult decisions to make, decisions that they would have to live with. It didn't matter if they made a bad one, but they should do their best to correct it.

She ended by telling them how proud she was to be able to say that they were all her classmates.

They day went by smoothly, everyone laughing and smiling and crying. Many parents were there, including her own and Draco's mother. She and Bryan seemed to be getting on well.

Hermione lay with Draco that night as usual. The only difference was she had tears streaming down her face, and he was trying to consol her.

"We'll come back and visit. Besides, didn't you want to be a Professor?"

"Yes but tonight, it's our last night as students, our last night as Heads, our last night where we still belong to a house."

"I know. You know, I think they did pretty well with the sorting." With tears still falling from her eyes, she gave him a confused look.

"When I went back and met the founders, Hufflepuff was a giggling girl, Ravenclaw, she didn't say much but you could tell she thought she was a cut above the rest. Slytherin was all calm and skeptical, and very angry. And Gryffindor, he was just weird."

"Hey," she laughed as she hit him on the shoulder, "I'm a Gryffindor."

"Yes, but you're my Gryffindor, so it's okay." His hand was gently brushing a few stray tears off her cheek.  
She smiled at him, the tears having come to a stop, "I like the sound of that."  
"It being okay that you're weird?"  
"Partly, but that's not what I meant."  
"What did you mean?" he asked, trying hard not to smile. He wanted her to say it, not that he didn't know what she was going to say, but still.

"Being yours."

He couldn't stop the huge grin that came on his face as he said, "As long as I get to be yours, we'll call it even."

"Deal."

They were both smiling hugely at each other for a while before he asked, "So have written anything in your diary yet?"  
"It's not a diary!"  
"I gave it to you as a diary, so a diary it will stay Granger."

"Fine, Draco, fine. But I'm using it to write down what had happened this year."

"Oh, how far have you gotten?"

"Well, I finished writing about finding out who my parents really are. I know I have a lot to go, but I've got more time." She hesitated for a moment before she looked at him, panicked, and whispered, "He doesn't know who my parents are does he?"

"I doubt it. He still thinks Josi is dead and Brett went poof. And besides, your parents are Muggle, to the rest of the world."  
"Oh, no, no. He attacked them remember, he would have found strong magical residue from Brett's spells. Oh Merlin, oh Merlin," she was sitting up, heart pounding, eyes wide in horror.

"Hey, hey, calm down Hermione, just breathe. We can go tell Brett, see if he agrees if you'd like."

"Yes, yes we should do that. Let's go."  
"Calm down, we have to change first, don't want to be wandering around the school in our P.J.'s, do we?"

"No, no you're right."

Ten minutes later, they were making their way towards Brett's rooms, Draco still attempting to soothe her.

"Draco, I don't think I could handle it if he were after them specifically, if they were, were killed, and I, I just…" her breaths were coming in short and finally he just grabbed her shoulders, turned her to face him and said, "We'll make sure that doesn't happen. And if it does then we'll get through it together. You forget, Brett is practically my dad, I don't want him hurt, and I don't want you hurt. Put both those things together, and I really don't want your Mum hurt.

"If he is after them, Brett will know and he'll have done something. Just please, Hermione, breathe. Calm down."

Nodding furiously, she said, "Yes, yes you're right. Of course he would have done something, and of course he would have known. Yes, yes, you're right." They walked quickly to Brett's rooms, both trying profusely to keep their words to themselves.

Hermione was still trying to panic, and Draco wanted to tell her, since he knew she was still panicking, to calm down. Instead they remained silent through the rest of their journey.

Brett was lying on his side, talking and laughing with his wife, when he heard someone knocking at his door. _Not again_, he thought.

Every time she visited, someone would interrupt them. Once it had been his daughter and he had been very nearly horrified. If she'd have wanted to talk to him in private, then he would have been horrified. Her mother had been lying naked on his bed just as she was now.

"I'll be just minute," he whispered before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. She smiled at him and nodded.

After slipping on a pair of pants, he moved to the door.

"Hello? Oh, Draco, Hermione," _shit_, then he looked at Hermione, "Come in, come in. I'll be right back. Just head into the kitchen while I go change."

When he entered his bedroom, Josi sat straight up, "What is it?" she whispered.

"Something's wrong with Hermione." She was instantly getting out of the bed and pulling on her pajamas.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" he asked as he stepped in front of her, hands in front of her chest once they were both dressed. Her eyes turned to fire.

"You don't tell me something is wrong with my child and expect me to just sit here do you? Because if you really do, then I will punch you."

"They don't know you're here."  
"Yes, well then they're about to find out. I intend to know what is wrong with my daughter since you can't tell me. Maybe there is something I can do, that we both know you can't." with that, she side stepped him and hurried into the hallway.

"-Back in a moment. Actually here he… is. Hello Josi."

"Hello Draco, Hermione, what's wrong?" Hermione was instantly in her mother's arms, sobbing and mumbling. Josi simply held onto her, murmuring words of comfort. Brett looked at Draco.

"She's scared," he said.

"Picked that one up myself Draco. Why?"

"She thinks Voldemort knows who you guys are and is more likely to try and kill you because of that. And… more likely to succeed."

"He is suspicious, but he doesn't know that Josi is alive, doesn't know that I was the one who was hiding her parents. The spells I used are far more advanced than Hermione's capabilities at this moment, so he knows it wasn't her, and besides, they left a very strong imprint because they were such strong spells left over time.

"Most people think that magic wears away after so long but that's not true. The magic grows stronger as long as the person who cast the spell still lives."  
"That's great Brett, but that doesn't help us right now."  
"Draco, he knows that someone is protecting her parents, just look at the abrupt departure along with everything else. He doesn't know that her parents are magical, and even if he did, he would put them off to magical people banned from the wizarding world. Stripped of their powers and have a powerful friend that was helping protect them and their child."  
"You can be stripped of your powers?"  
"Oh yes, many people were. You see, Azkaban used to be for just regular crimes. People who used Unforgivables were stripped of their powers. Then the dementors were introduced, and so those people were in Azkaban with the dementors, as well as stripped of their powers.

"When they discovered that the dementors had no effect on the people without their powers, it was decided that the dementors were a better punishment and people were no longer stripped of their powers.

"This happened only about thirty years ago. Voldemort was already starting his first Reign of Terror."

"So he really has no clue who her parents are?"

"And could probably care less."

"See Granger? Everything is fine. Voldemort is ignorant and careless, and obviously stupid." She was still holding onto her mother, her face red with tears, as she stared at him. After a moment, she broke from her mother's embrace and stood next to Brett. The two just stared at each other for a moment before he opened his arms and she stepped into them.

Draco was shocked still for a moment before he turned to look at Josi. She was smiling at the embrace. He heard the two embracing whisper to each other and then pull back. Smiling at his daughter, Brett said, "We'll be okay. I promise." She nodded.

Everyone was quiet for a full minute before she said, "Tell me about my brother."


	26. Psycho

He stumbled as the words fell from her lips, "Your brother?"

"I heard you talking. Apparently so did Ginny and she told Draco. They think they know who it is. And so do I, but since we're in agreement, it's you who gets to tell us the truth. Either we're all wrong, or all right." She seemed to be regaining all her wits her eyes less puffy, her voice clear and strong, her face no longer streaked with tears but tinged red with anger.

"Hermione," Josi began.

"What Mum? You know it; Ginny said you figured out who he is too, because Brett here wouldn't tell you."

"He was trying to protect him! The same way he was protecting us!"

"Then why didn't he just leave Harry with us Mum? Why not? Why send him off on his own?"  
"Because I couldn't let Lily and James live like that." The words were quiet, slow, hard, "They tried so hard, Lily had had two miscarriages already. I asked her, I told her what I was doing, I asked her to help me. James, he was off with the Sirius, and I was holding Harry." They could all see the pain in his eyes, the tears threatening to fall as the words fell nearly silently from his lips, "I was holding my baby, like she knew she never would again. She agreed to help me. She and James would raise him as their own.

"When James came back in, I was leaving and she was holding him. James was so excited when she told him. She said, 'He made it, our little guy made it.' They were going to name their boy Chandler Jonathon but she told him that he looked more like a Harry James.

"We visited his grave twice after we buried him. I go back twice a year; James and Lily are right next to him. Once on his birthday, once on their deathday."  
"Isn't his both?"  
"Yes Draco, but I'd rather remember it simply as his birthday."

"Why does Harry look like James then?"

"Simply another spell Hermione," his eyes were hard, cold as stone. Then he turned and walked away.

After a moment, Josi said, "You should go back to sleep, it's your last night here. You have to get up early in the morning." Her words were aimed toward them, her eyes to the hallway down which Brett had walked.

"I'm sorry Mum. I had to know." Josi turned to look at her daughter sadly, "I know dear," she said, "I did too."

"We won't tell him, Mum, not until Brett says it's ok."  
"It won't ever be okay honey, it won't. But maybe he'll come round. Goodnight both of you." sighing, she walked down the hall after Brett. They watched her speed up when they heard a few crashes in a row.

As they walked back into the hall, Draco draped his arm across her shoulders and she leaned on him.

"I had to know Draco, I had to know."  
"I know Hermione. I know."

"Brett, Brett, calm down."  
He looked at her, tears falling from his face, absolutely shattered. She approached him slowly, only to stop as he backed away from her.

"Don't, don't come any closer to me. I can't, I'll do something more, find someway to hurt you more. Everything I do seems to work out that way." She could see the glass that littered the room, all that things he had broken.  
"No Brett, no. You have never hurt me by being around me. You've only hurt me when you walk away. When you turn away from me, from what we have. That's what hurts me."  
"You hurt when you realized what I'd done; you hurt when I wouldn't tell you who our son was, when I tried to-"

"Because I thought we could have handled it together. I thought we were strong enough to survive without all the protection you created. But now I know we wouldn't have. We couldn't have. You hurt yourself; you gave us everything, just so we could live.

"It didn't matter to you that you were practically killing yourself in the process, that you might have to face these choices later. All that mattered was that you kept us safe. And you have, you kept us safe.

"Why can't you see that? We're alive because you made it that way; we're here because you made it that way."

"You're hurt because I made it that way. You don't know your son because I made it that way. James and Lily are dead because I made it that way."  
"No, no, no," she was shaking her head at him, "James and Lily would have died anyway. I'm not hurt because you kept us alive; I'm hurt because the only way to do that was keep us from you, because you had to be hurt.

"And yes, I don't know our son, but you don't know either of them. I still know our daughter, Brett, and now I get the chance to know our son. You get the chance to know them both."

"But I-"

"No buts, Brett. You aren't hurting me by being here, you're not hurting anyone one by being here. But if you go, you'll hurt me, Hermione, and Draco atleast. And do you really want to do that?"  
"No, no I don't, Josi. I love you all; I love you so much,"

"Then stay. Stay close, become close, don't go. Don't turn us away."

"I, Josi I just don't know. If I go away, if I leave, then,"

"Then what? Everyone will think that I love a man who doesn't love me back? That you're the sort of man who'll leave a woman with children on the way? That you sent us away because you didn't want our kids?

"Then Draco will feel as if he doesn't deserve a father? Because he was given a shitty one and the first man he felt was his father left him? That maybe he shouldn't have children simply because he won't know how to be a good father?  
"Then Hermione will wonder if it's her fault you left? That she'll always blame herself for the pain you'd cause? Because she asked about her brother, someone she loved as her brother before she knew he was her brother?

"Is that what you want to happen? Because if you left that is exactly what would happen." She was standing next to him no, her words softer, and she reached up to touch his face. She didn't care for a moment about the glass shards that had had to be stuck in her bare feet. She was standing in the result of his pain, she couldn't cause him more.

"Because if that's what you want, then go right ahead and leave. Right now."  
He was silent, his eyes filled, staring right back into hers. When she moved to pull her hand from his cheek he placed his on top of hers and simply held it there.

"Brett, you're a good man, a wonderful man. Not once have you thought of yourself. It's always been about our family, about keeping our family protected. We both know that there is nothing you wouldn't do to keep us safe.

"But you have to realize that sometimes we have to keep you safe. It's not all up to you. Sometimes we have to work together to stay safe. And sometimes we need you here, with us, to stay safe. You can't just assume that leaving us, covering us with a hundred different spells will keep us safe.

"Especially when we're out fighting, when we're battling. We choose to fight; we choose to defend this world from all the horrendous things that are out there. And we need you to be here with us, to support us. We all already know that you're doing everything possible to help Harry, to help everyone. Sometimes you just need to take a break and let us handle everything.

"Brett, please." He hadn't heard much of her words, especially near the end. He was stuck in the middle. Replaying it over and over again in his head. When he finally pulled himself out, he saw the tears streaming down her face.

"I don't think I could go on without you. I don't think I could survive if you left me again. I don't think I could."  
"Josi, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She pulled away from him, looking on the verge of collapsing. She didn't understand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I wasn't thinking. I love you," he was standing beside her again, hands on her shoulders, tears still burning down each of their faces, "I love you. I couldn't live without you again. It was so hard, so difficult, the first time. I'd die if I tried it again. I don't want to, I really don't.

"But when I think about everything I've done, I just don't realize that doing it again, now that you know, would hurt you as much as it hurts me. I'm sorry I'm so stupid, I'm sorry that I don't realize that having you back with me is the best thing in the world, not only for now but for forever."

"The rest of forever," she corrected as she continued to watch his eyes.

"For the rest of forever. I'm sorry I'm so blind that I couldn't even see the truth. But there is something I'm not sorry about, something I'll never be sorry about."  
"Which is what Brett?" she whispered after a moment of silence.

"Loving you, loving all of you," he murmured as he leaned his forehead against hers and placed his hand on her belly. His eyes were shut; she could hear the tears hit the floor. She brought her hands up to cup his face and watched him open his eyes ever so slowly.

"What do you mean?" her words were softer than his hand been.

"You said, 'a woman with children on the way' and since you're the only I could leave, since you're the only woman I've been with," he was taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

He had been scared before, when he had thought of leaving again, scared out of his mind. He never wanted to leave, never wanted to separate them. She was the woman he had loved for so many years, the only woman he would ever love. But he had been a coward; he was being a coward but minutes ago. When he thought he was hurting her: he left, when he thought he was protecting her: he left, when he thought she would be happier without him: he left.

He was a coward. A dirty, rotten coward.

But atleast now he could admit it.

"Brett, I don't know what you mean. I don't know-" he surprised her when he picked her up in his arms and sat her on his bed. He fell to his knees before her, between her legs. Ever so slowly, he moved her shirt upwards and gently placed a kiss on her belly. She gasped at the sudden warmth of his lips.

He looked back at her and whispered, "Next time I go on a crazy rant, spiel, whatever you want to call it, just whack me upside the head."

She smiled lightly at him, "I think I can manage that."

The next morning, as all the students were leaving to board the train, Josi held a vial in her hands. Smiling, Brett held her around her waist, his head on her shoulder. She was leaning back against him, her open hand lying on his.

After two minutes, he whispered, "Let's see." He was excited, in a better way than he had been the night before. She shook her head.

"What? Why not?"

"No, not yet silly. First I want to ask you something,"

"Go right ahead," he said as she turned around in his arms.

"Do you still want the big family, five or six kids running around?"  
Laughing, he nodded, "But I'll be happy with whatever we get. Why?"

She held out the vial to him, dark purple, "Because I think I'm coming around to the idea."

"Twins?" he was just as happy as he was the first time she had held the little green vial in front of him.

"Twins," she confirmed. Laughing joyfully, he picked her up and spun her around, "Two weeks," she continued as she laughed in his arms.

This was the way things were supposed to be, she thought, they would hold each other during the nights, laugh and smile with each other during the day. They would stand together during thick and thin. They would raise their beautiful children together, watch them grow and learn. Help them grow and learn. Watch each one get married and have children of their own.

They would watch their grandchildren grow and learn. They would watch their great grand children grow and learn. Watch each one marry. They would spend Sundays with Molly and Arthur, gathering the whole family together. Most days would be spent in happiness, in laughter, some in pain and remembrance.

And they would die, old and wrinkly; completely satisfied with the life they spent together.


	27. Q The Best One of Our Lives

"Harry?"  
"Yeah Hermione?" he looked up from the book he was reading.

"I think, I think I know where the last Horcrux is."

"You do?" his voice was excited and panicked at the same time.

"Yes. But you're not going to like it."

"Well, where do you think it is?"

"Mousa Ali."

"And I'm supposed to know where that is how?"

"It's in East Africa but it's not the where that matters, rather it's the what. You know how we went to a wizard house, and then you and Brett went to a wizard village? And Dumbledore said he found the ring in his family's house, and you found the locket, or what should have been the locket, near a place he visited that has some wizarding significance?

"Well, those were all well protected. By magic, atleast. Well Mousa Ali, that's not very important to wizards. But Hufflepuff had gone there with her husband on their honeymoon. Although why anyone would want to go there on a honeymoon is beyond me, still they went there."

"Ok, Hermione this information might be helpful if, oh I don't know, you told what Mouse Ally is?"

"Mousa Ali, not mouse ally. It's, well, it's a volcano. It's still partly active. It doesn't erupt or anything, it just bubbles and simmers inside. Which is where Voldemort would have hidden the Jared. Only he would have probably taken advantage of the natural hidden areas and passage ways, and possibly created ones himself.

"It'll be difficult to find but destroying it should be pretty simple."  
"Well yeah, we just use the powder like we have been using."

"Yes, you could do that Harry, but I think it would be much simpler and less likely for you to accidentally kill yourself if you do what I suggest."  
"Which is? Hermione are you sure you're ok? You seem a little out of it."  
"No, no I'm okay. You just throw it into the lava."

"Throw the whole cup into the lava? Are you sure that would really destroy it? Because if it doesn't destroy it then we are completely screwed over. There would be no way to get it back."

"Yes Harry. Lava is one of the most dangerous substances on earth, that is naturally occurring. Especially for wizards. You see, Muggles can survive it if they are spattered with a few drops. It simply burns through their skin and hurts them, a lot.

"But that powder that Brett has, that powder is mainly dried lava simply ground up. It has another ingredient in it to cause the whole slow part, but the painful part is all the lava.

"The whole 'get any on your skin and it burns you from the inside out after spreading through your bloodstream', that's all the lava."  
"How in the world does lava do anything like that Hermione? Sure, I understand it burns people, and it can kill people very easily. But how can Muggles survive 'spatters' but wizards can't survive a drop?" Harry asked, completely intrigued.

"Harry, lava is a magical substance. It destroys the magic in your blood and bones, and since Muggles possess no magic at all, they won't necessarily die from a little bit touching them."

"So basically I have to make sure I never ever touch even a microscopic drop of lava? Well, how exactly do we get the Horcrux? I mean, if it's all bubbly, then doesn't that mean that some of it will spill over onto where we have to walk in the volcano? Ok that just sounds weird, who walks around in a volcano?"

"Apparently, Voldemort. But I'm telling you, this time the traps will definitely be worse than those in China ."

"Why do you say that? Isn't being in a volcano with a ton of passages protection enough?"

"Harry, Voldemort had to have made the cup last, it's the only possibility. The ring was his first, he had to have gotten the bust and the cane while still in school, he had the diary while he was in school, the locket came to him at the beginning of his job at Borgin and Burkes, but he had to work for such a long time to get the cup. Before he killed the woman that is.

"He would have protected it fiercely, hence the volcano part, just in case others somehow found out about the others and miraculously destroyed them. And we've done that, found and destroyed the others."

"Ok fine Hermione, we'll go there and check. You could be right, or it could simply be sitting there waiting for us because who in the world would jump into a volcano? But I do have another question, who would go with me?

"Actually, no, who would be _stupid_ enough to go with me?"

"Harry, I'm going with you and I'm sure one of my parents would insist on coming, and Draco and Ron might as well. It's not about stupidity, Harry, its bout the fact that this needs to get done, that we need to destroy it so that you can destroy him. We all understand that and we all want to do as much as we possibly can to help."

"Thank you Hermione." His voice was quiet, soft. His face was turned away from her, eyes even further. She knew he didn't like it, she also knew he understood the importance of it.

Without another word, she walked quietly from the room, wondering how everything would turn out.

"Granger?" she smiled as she turned to look at him.

"Yes Draco?" They were walking around the woods of his mother's estate. He wanted to show her something, he had said, something that was as close as anything could come to being as beautiful as she. And she had blushed as she laughed, nodding her consent.

"Close your eyes, we're getting close."  
"But then I won't be able to see, I might walk into a tree," she laughed as he came up behind her and placed his hands over her eyes. Smiling, he replied, "I'm going to guide you." as they walked slowly through the woods, his hands over her eyes, gently guiding her body with his, he told her a story from his youth, when he had first discovered this place.

"Father was having a party and us kids were out here playing hide and seek, and I was hiding so I ran as far as I could, and then some. But when I first saw it, I didn't really see it. I tripped over a rock and fell face first into…"

"Into what?" she asked after he stopped.

"Just about… here. Ok, open your eyes," he whispered softly in her ear as he took his hands off her face. Her eyes went wide, her breath caught in her throat, and she heard him chuckle behind her.

"How, but, it's beautiful." She was staring across a small creek, that dark blue of the ocean at night. Trees hung over it, over the little hills that probably hid caves, but opened up right above the center, just enough so that, should it have been night, she would see a huge expanse of the stars, twinkling brightly above them.

Flowers and grass grew all around; stones lined the floor of the creek, and everything together, perfectly romantic. She looked back at him, smiling, and he smiled happily back at her. Then she watched him get nervous.

"What Draco?"

"What do you mean 'what'?"  
"You're nervous, why are you nervous?"  
"Oh, that what, well, I'll tell you later. First, I want you to, where is it?" he started turning around in circles, looking for something that seemed important. Just as she was about to ask him what he was looking for, his eyes caught on something in the distance. He held his hand out to her, asking her to come with him.

She placed her hand in his and followed him up the small hills. As they got further up, she could see small parts of something. Not that she could figure it out, but still, she saw it.

He was definitely eager, that was obvious, and she couldn't figure out what exactly he was eager about until they reached what he had been looking for. A big, dark blue blanket, on which sat a picnic basket.

"A picnic?" she questioned with a smile in her voice.

"Of course a picnic." The smile on his face was large, his eyes shining brightly with happiness. As they ate strawberries, and sandwiches (he didn't know how to make much else he explained), chips, and many other little things, as they drank cherry punch he told her to pretend was wine, she could see his nervousness return.

But she let it slide, not wanting him to chicken out because she called him out on it. Chicken out on whatever he was nervous about. Finally they lay, staring at the expanse above them, her head on his shoulder, his arm underneath her back, hers thrown across his torso.

He was quite as he pulled away from her; she was cold as he turned on his side to face her. Very lightly, he pressed his lips to hers. Smiling when he pulled back, she waited silently for him to talk.

"Granger, I know you would prefer me to call you Hermione, which is still strange for me. So I continue to call you Granger, but I think. I think it might be easier for me to call you Hermione, if Granger was no longer part of your name." he gently moved a strand of hair from her face as she tried to understand what he was saying.

"I love you, I don't know when I started loving you, I don't know how I did, I just know that I do Hermione. I know that I will always love you, that no matter what happens in this life, I will continue to love more and more each day." His hand was shaking as he reached across her and pulled a small black box from the picnic basket. Ever so slowly, she pulled it from his giving hand.

"I want to be able to tell you everyday, for the rest of my life, that I love you. I want to be able to hold you in my arms every night, to watch you fall asleep. I want to kiss you in the morning, in the night, whenever I want.

"Hermione Granger," he gently pulled the top up as she continued to hold the box, "Will you let me have the honor of being your husband?"


	28. She Will Be Loved

"_Hermione Granger," he gently pulled the top up as she continued to hold the box, "Will you let me have the honor of being your husband?"_

Her eyes were wide, her mouth unable to work. She watched his eyes searching her own for an answer. After a few minutes of silence he pulled further away from her, sitting straight up. His back was rigid, his hands shaking.

"Draco,"

"I'm sorry, I guess it was too early, much too early. I mean I only told you I love you two weeks ago. It's only been two weeks. Much too soon. Yes, I'm sorry." He still wasn't looking at her, sitting in the same position whilst he rambled on about it being too early. It wasn't too early. That she did know.

In fact, she would have accepted him even if he had asked her the first night he had said he loved her. Why couldn't he see that?

"Draco, please, let me talk," she said quickly as he opened his mouth to interrupt her. She was sitting next to him, facing him, even as he continued to stare straight ahead of him. Gently, she took his face in her hands and turned it so he was looking at her. His eyes were pained, his hands still shaking.

"Draco, I would love to marry you."  
"But?"

"But? What do you mean but?"

"You said it in that, 'but…' tone. I would love to marry you but… but what?"  
"There is no but Draco. I would love to marry you." Smiling gently at him, she placed the box back in his hands. He looked back at her, confusion showing darkly on his face.

"I don't understand," he whispered as he looked between her and the box she had lain in his hands. A smile still brushed across her face, she pulled his other hand to the ring sitting innocently on the soft interior padding.

Then she held her left hand out to him. Finally he understood what she wanted. Completely mesmerized, he slipped the ruby on her finger. He brushed his lips gently across her hand after the ring had fit itself onto her finger.

When he looked back into her eyes, his own were still captivated. She was still smiling and softly she pressed her lips to his again before resting in his arms.

"Mum, Brett, we have something really important to tell you," there was a small pause and then, "Where's Bryan ?"

"Oh, he said he might be late, duty and everything. Would you like to wait for him?" Josi asked as they sat at the dinner table. She watched her daughter fiddle with her hands and tried to hide her smile.

Hermione looked at Draco who gave her an encouraging smile and nodded.

"Yes, yes it would be better if we waited for Bryan ."  
"Ok, well, he said that if he was running late he'd just grab something else for dinner. Are you okay honey?"  
"Oh, yes, yes I'm fine." Throughout the meal, Draco had to keep touching her arm in an effort to calm her down. Just as they finished eating, Bryan knocked on the door.

"Oh good, good, he's here. Well I'll go show him in, why don't you three go to the living room?" Josi asked as she again watched her daughter begin wringing her hands. Draco nodded and followed Brett into the living, his arm wrapped around her daughter's waist.

"So, whatever you have to tell us must be extremely important for you to wait this long to tell us," Brett said with a knowing smile on his face as they sat down on one couch and he on the opposite.

"How do you know already? We haven't told anyone!" Draco asked incredulously.

Laughing he tapped his head, "Remember? And anyways, I know you Draco, I could see the differences. But don't worry, I haven't told anyone. I promise."  
"You're sure?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

"Of course I'm sure, what are you so worried about?" he asked gently.

"I don't want Mum or Bryan to be angry with us."

"Why would we be angry with you?" Bryan asked as the former and the latter both walked into the room.

"You might want to sit down," Brett said and patted the sofa next to him. Josi gave him a death glare.

"You already know don't you? I hate it when you do that."  
"Sorry, but I figure it's their secret to tell."

"Well, it's not really a bad secret, Josi. Atleast, I hope you don't see it as a bad one. Maybe bad that we didn't tell you right away, but not bad overall." Draco's words seemed to soothe Hermione as she gripped his hand and took a deep breath.

When she opened her mouth to speak, no words came out. Apparently, the talk of marriage shut her up. Or atleast the talk of her own marriage.

Chuckling at her, Draco uncovered her left hand and she held it out to her parents. After a moment of silence, Josi leaned in closer to her hand and whispered, "It's beautiful. It looks-" she was cut off as Brett grabbed her hand. When she looked back at him, he just stared at her. Ok, she would get him to explain later.

"Congratulations," Bryan said as he stared at her hand. A million thoughts were running through his head. Why didn't the boy ask him if it was ok? Didn't he have more class then that? When did it happen? But most importantly, who was she going to ask to walk her down the aisle?

"When did it happen?" Josi asked, with a smile on her face. She definitely approved. _Do I?_ Bryan thought to himself. He did want what was best for his daughter. No, she wasn't his daughter, not by blood. And sure, at the beginning she had said that he would always be her dad, but now? Now that she had gotten to know her real father, did she still consider herself his daughter?

"Dad," he didn't respond, so lost was he in his thoughts.

"Dad," she said slightly louder, jolting him out of his mind.

"Yes?"

"I want you to walk me down the aisle." Her words stopped him in his tracks. He quickly glanced at Brett who wore a sad smile.

"You want me to walk you down the aisle? And give you away?" she nodded as she gripped Draco's hand harder. He chuckled once and turned to Brett.

"We also would like for you to marry us Brett."

His words stopped everyone but Hermione who leaned further back on him. His arm was wound tightly around her waist.

"Marry you? As in the 'you may now kiss the bride' part?" Brett asked, completely stunned.

"Oh so you knew they were engaged but you didn't know that they wanted you to marry them? Yeah, right," Josi said with a shake of her head.

"But, but why?" he asked, ignoring his wife, "I mean, surely anyone would do right?"

"It just," Draco looked at Hermione, unable to speak the words the way he intended them to be said. "It seemed like the best thing to do, but if you don't want to, I'm sure we can find someone else to do it."

"No, no I would love to but, I just, didn't see that one coming."

The two engaged soon left, remembering that they had to get up early the next for that was the only time that their friends would all be together.

"Ok Brett, why did you shush me when I started saying that it looked like the one you got me?"  
"Josi, it is yours. The one you had with Bryan was actually your moms. I didn't want you to keep the one I gave you because, you know, memory triggers and everything. I figured your mother's was safe. But when Draco turned sixteen, I gave it to him. You know how when everyone turns sixteen they get something from someone, well I figured that he really wouldn't because he had Lucius as his father and all. And since I completely consider him my son, I figured he should have it for the woman he loves. I figured I'd tell you about it if you ever asked, but otherwise I was just going to let you keep the one you have."

She was silent for a minute before she said, "And you never thought that maybe our real son would like to give it to the woman _he_ loves?"

"Yes, but I never planned on him knowing who I was, nor that Lily and James weren't really his parents."

"So that made it ok? I mean, Draco is much better suited for Hermione than Ron, or pretty much anyone else but still. He isn't really our son."

"He may not be your son, but he is mine. And soon he will be our son in law. So won't that count?"  
"Brett, Brett,"  
"What Josi? Surely you can't have had that much of an objection to it?" he whispered as he moved closer to her, pulling her by her hips closer to him. He could feel the small bump that was slowly becoming their children.

She shook her head as she looked downwards.

"Then what's the problem?" There was silence for a moment, as if she didn't really know how to answer him. Finally, she said, "I really liked that ring."

"You're _what?!?!?!_" Ron very nearly yelled. Hermione backed further into Draco's chest, his arms wrapping protectively around her.

"We're getting married Weasley. I don't care if you don't like it, but you're going to have to deal with it if you want to come to the wedding. If you can't handle it then we just won't send you an invite."

"Oh he'll be able to handle it if I have to force him to," Ginny said with a mad glint in her eyes. When she turned to look at Hermione, she was grinning, her eyes sparkling, "So you _are_ getting cuddly with him."

Hermione laughed lightly and Harry and Draco chuckled. Ron just stared angrily between them. Then he turned to Harry, "You're going to let you're best friend marry him? He's a bastard; he's the enemy, the guy who's going to screw us all over. You hate him, always have, and yet you're just going to let this, this _**thing**_ happen? What a great hero _you_ are Potter, can't even help you're friends." And then he simply strode away.

They stared between themselves for a few moments before Hermione whispered, "I knew he wasn't going to like it, but I didn't think he would be that much against it."  
"Hey, Hermione, it's ok. Ron's just a big git who thinks everyone should be on his side. He doesn't realize that he's usually wrong and makes a fool of himself."

"I know, I just… Oh I don't know, I wanted everyone to approve."

"Everyone who matters approves. Isn't that enough for you?" Harry asked gently.

She nodded. Everyone who did matter approved: her parents, her dad, her brother, her best friend in the world. If Ronald didn't care for it, couldn't handle it, then they would do as Draco proposed, simply not invite him.


	29. City Ignites

"Harry, you have to be careful, Harry. Remember, not one little speck of lava. Otherwise you're dead."

"I know Hermione and besides that, Brett'll be with me. He'll make sure that I know when I'm on the verge of doing something stupid."

"Yeah Hermione, I won't let him do anything stupid while I'm with him. I hope. Now we have to go."

"I know Brett, but, please be careful. Please." Brett looked at his daughter silently for a moment before he pulled her into his embrace.

"We'll be ok Hermione. I promise." He felt her nod as her arms came around him and he felt his shirt dampen slightly. He held her for another moment before saying, "We should go." She nodded again, and stepped back from him.

Brett glanced over at his wife, her hands resting lightly on her stomach, and smiled sadly at her. He really didn't want to leave her, never again. She smiled sadly back at him. So much did she want to hold her son before he left, but they both knew she couldn't. So she had simply held Brett closer through the night, as if that would make up for it. They both had known it wouldn't.

"Brett, how exactly are we getting _into_ the volcano?" Harry asked as they stood at the top, "At least without killing ourselves?"

"Harry, Harry," Brett chuckled as he shook his head.

"What?"  
"Hermione was being over cautious. Put a bubblehead charm on yourself," Brett continued as he cast the spell on himself. Confused, Harry followed suit. The bubblehead charm only worked on your head, right?

A moment later he watched Brett grab the bubble, and gently start pulling it down ward. It expanded and soon he was covered entirely. He watched with even more surprise as Brett did the same to his own.

"I didn't know you could do that," he exclaimed.

"Well, normally you can't. But I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve than Voldemort does Harry. Now to get down, all we have to do is fly."

"But we don't have any brooms."

Laughing again, Brett pulled two small brooms from his pocket and, after handing one to Harry, he enlarged them

"We are wizards you know," he said with a smile on his face. Harry flushed.

Once they had landed on the surface surrounding the lava, Harry noticed a few holes in his 'shield'.

"Brett?" he shouted over the roaring magma. Brett responded by raising an eyebrow. He pointed to the holes. Brett's eyes grew wide for a moment before he hurriedly repeated the charm on the both of them.

Only to find that the new ones were burning away faster than he could keep making them. Sighing defeat, he quickly cast a large shield charm to surround them and block out the noise.

"Harry, magic doesn't last too long down here," he began quickly, "We have to find the right open way as fast as possible. Stay as close as you can to the edge and try to keep a shield around you."

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to do that?" he questioned as they watched the shield begin to fall away.

"Dammit, you haven't taken Ancient Runes. Ok I'm going to need you to hold onto me because I can't hold up a moving shield for the both of us by myself. I'm going to have draw on your magic." Harry nodded and Brett gripped his wrist.

The shield that been fading behind them suddenly grew in strength. Slowly they began moving, Harry pressing gently against the walls, casting any spell the Brett asked of him.

He could tell the man was trying to take the least amount of energy from him as possible. He could tell the man was quickly becoming weak. Even as he realized Brett wouldn't be able to do much more, he found the spot.

He looked at Brett who quickly drew his wand down his own arm and splashed the blood on the wall. The wall faded away and allowed them passage as Harry turned and gripped Brett's wrist, willing some of his own magic into the shield protecting them for he had seen it shimmer. He very nearly dragged Brett into the passage way that had opened before them. As soon as they were in, the passage way sealed itself again. Harry looked at it for only a moment before turning back to Brett.

Brett gently removed his hand from his wrist and sat down, leaning heavily against the wall.

"Why did you do that?" Harry asked angrily, "You could have killed yourself doing that! You didn't have to be all tough guy Brett!"

"I wasn't being all tough guy Harry, if I took much more from you, we wouldn't have made it to the door. Trust me, James and I had to do this a few times, we very nearly had it to perfection by the last time we worked together. Just give me a minute, ok?" Harry nodded angrily, before he knelt next to him and healed his cut.

Brett smiled thankfully at his son. Harry threw a stoic look at him before pushing to his feet and beginning pacing around. After a few minutes, Brett began pushing himself to his feet. Harry, being the type of guy he was, hurried over and extended his hand to him. Brett grasped it gratefully.

"Ok, so Mr. Know-It-All, where do go now?"

Brett glanced around before he placed his wand in his hand, whispered a few words to it, and the said clearly, "Point me." It spun quickly for a moment and then pointed to their left.

"This way." They navigated the tunnels this way for nearly an hour and Harry, exasperated, finally said, "Why is this taking so long?"

"I don't know Harry. I wouldn't think that Voldemort would go through all this trouble especially for Hufflepuff is beyond me."

"Well, he did like the lady he killed to steal it from. Maybe it's some demented way of trying to make it up to her. Even the locket wasn't protected like this."

"I know- oh. Harry, look ahead of us." Harry raised his wand, trying to further the dim light emitting solely from his wand. The beautiful cup he had seen in the memory was no more. Standing on a platform in front of them was a dull chalice, nothing like its former glory.

"That's it Brett, maybe not exactly what I expected it to be, but that's it," Harry said quietly as they moved closer, slowly. Brett lit his wand as they approached it, looking closely for any unexpected traps. When Harry reached out to grab it, Brett's hand shot out and gripped his wrist tighter than he had before.

"What?" Harry asked as he slowly pulled his hand away when Brett loosened his grip.

"Harry, can't you see that?"

"See what?"  
"The glimmer around it, it's moving. I think it might be some sort of shield. That's what was probably affecting our magic." Brett examined his hand for a moment before thrusting it through the sheen. He nearly screamed in pain.

Both watched as his arm slowly began deteriorating, watched as it became more and more difficult for him to move his hand closer. Harry touched his hand to Brett's forearm, in the hopes that more magic would help him. After what felt like an eternity, Brett grasped the cup and tugged. He tugged hard, expecting the journey back to be as difficult as the journey to it. Which promptly caused them both to fall backwards.

"Bloody hell!" Harry exclaimed as he stood up. When he glanced at Brett's arm he whispered, "Double bloody hell." Brett glanced down at the hand holding onto the cup, only to find that it had repaired itself and was now shimmering itself as the cup regained its original beauty.

"How did that happen? I mean we both saw your arm, you know, all gross, and the cup was all dull and everything."

"It was that shield around it Harry, it drew the magic from the cup to continue holding onto it. When we arrived, it drew on our magic instead. But I don't know what happened after that. I mean, it makes no sense as to why it would disappear when the cup did, nor that my arm would go back to normal or anything."

"Well, maybe we should get back now? How do you suppose we do that? can we Appaperate or do we have to go in the way we came?"  
"Oh, neither. Voldemort would have created another entrance so that he wouldn't have to go close to the lava. But the only way we could find it on the outside would be if we had already gone through it on the inside. But getting out will be much easier."_ I hope_ was silently added.

"Oh Merlin, oh Merlin. You know they could so easily die, I mean, Merlin."

"Granger, shut up." Hermione nearly flinched at her fiancé's harsh words.

After a moment of silence she said, "You know, you won't be able to call me that much longer."

Laughing, he drew his arm around her and pulled her close, "That's why I'm saying as much as I possibly can. Now don't worry, they'll be fine, five or six tomorrow and they'll be back. I promise."

"Yes, because that makes it so much better, Draco. who knows if either of them will come back alive?"  
"Well, for them to come back, doesn't at least one of them have to be alive?"

She gaped at him, her mouth opening even further when she saw them appear right before her very eyes.

"How did you do that so fast?" Hermione asked, eyes open wide. Then she watched Brett collapse right in front of her, Harry holding onto him as best he could.

"What happened?" Brett struggled to say as his eyes fluttered open.

"Well, after we destroyed the Horcrux, and we left that other way you found, well, you sort of got really, really weak. And I Appaperated us to the midway point and then on to Draco and Hermione's flat because I figured they might be able to help you. And as it turns out, Josi did. She fixed you up and said you had to rest for a few days but you would be ok.

"You should have seen her face when Hermione started telling her. First thing she said was something to the effect of, 'Something's wrong with Brett.' I swear, Josi would have knocked her out of the way if she hadn't moved already."

Brett nodded slowly and said, "Where is Josi?"  
"Oh, she's dropping a few things off at the Weasley's. But she said she should be back here by six. So she'll be here soon. Oh, we're at the school by the way. In the Hospital Wing."

Brett nodded slowly again. His head hurt, his arms and legs hurt, his core hurt, hell, even his fingers hurt. He knew exactly why they hurt, but that didn't mean he could push away the pain. Harry watched him, wondering what the man was thinking. He didn't hear the doors open behind him.

"Hermione?"

"Hi Brett, how are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine, should be out of here soon. How long have I been here anyways?"  
"Almost three days. Josi kept you asleep because she didn't want you to be up and moving around before your body was ready. Which she figured you would." There was silence for a minute before she continued quietly, "I'm glad you're not dead Brett. I-"

"You're awake," Josi exclaimed, hurrying to her husband.

"Yeah, I'm awake," he laughed as she smiled greatly back at him.

"Oh, this probably isn't the best time to interrupt everyone." They all turned around to see Luna Lovegood standing in the doorway.

"Why would interrupting us be a bad thing?" Hermione asked her politely.

"Well, you see, there are Snorfs surrounding you and everyone knows what happens to them when some brings bad news."

"What do they do?" Harry asked, his mind not yet having processed the part about bad news.

"They get angry and start attacking everyone around them. They bite you and sting you, so much that your whole body swells. It's really not pleasant."  
"Speaking of not pleasant, what's the bad news?" Hermione asked.

"I really shouldn't tell you now, but as it is, you must know. There was a battle last night, just small and quick, but something terrible did happen."

"What is it Luna?" Harry said.

"Well, two of your friends are dying at St. Mungo's right now."


	30. Deadly Game

"-So I just came here. I really didn't know what else to do. Brett, he's going to attack. I don't know where, or what time, but I'm telling you, he will attack today."

Brett studied him for a minute before he said, "You're sure? I mean, this hasn't happened at all the past few weeks? Not once?"  
"Nothing more than normal, it always twinges every now and then. Wait a minute, why?"

"Hmm, oh, well, he's been deciding it would be time to act then changing his mind the day before. Atleast, the past few weeks he has. He knows that we won't have time to build up our forces before then every time." There was another slight pause in his speech before he said, "It'll be in London . Wizarding London of course, not just Diagon Alley, actually not even close to Diagon Alley. And near the evening, yes, because his servants would have more advantages at night than we would. Yes, certainly. Harry, we have to tell McGonagall. Make sure everyone knows, that sort of thing. This is it. I pray to Merlin that this is last time that fucker walks the face of this planet. Actually, the last time he does anything anywhere, except maybe burn in hell. No, he would probably enjoy that. He can be chained up serving Merlin up there. Yes, that would be good, and all the people he hurt and killed, or ordered hurt or killed for that matter, can do to him what he did to them."

Harry raised his eyebrow at Hermione's father. Brett grinned sheepishly down at him, "I've had a lot of time to think about what should happen to him, usually I'm not that cruel, but it _is_ Voldemort. He deserves the worst he can get." Harry nodded gently before he said, "I'll go talk to Hermione and Draco, and the Weasleys."

They were standing row upon row upon row of people readying to fight. Draco was gripping Hermione's hand tightly, she squeezing back just as hard, her other hand wrapped around the locket draped around her neck. Her heart was pounding, faster and harder than it ever had before.

She let her eyes shift, watching all the people that surrounded them. Her parents were standing a few people down from them, in very nearly the same position. The only difference was that instead of her mother's hand being wrapped around a locket, it was resting gently on her stomach. After a moment, she realized why her mother's hand was resting just so. Her mother was pregnant. And she hadn't told anyone.

But she knew why. Her mother was protecting everyone just in case she died. Then they could simply mourn her, not their siblings.

Harry was standing to her left, breathing hard. He had insisted Ginny not be in front with them. He couldn't stand it if she died for him, if she died period. Ron stood next to him, head bent, as if realizing that this could be his final moment. As if he were accepting that it would be.

She wondered briefly if her father knew who would die. No, surely he couldn't. In battles people make split second decisions that either safe their lives, or cost them. That was when she heard it, when she saw it.

It sounded like thunder, only ten times louder than she had ever heard. It looked like fog, only ten times thicker than she had ever seen. There were dozens of giants, thousands of dementors and creatures she didn't remember the names of, and then there were the Death Eaters. Hundreds of men and women, faces covered with those stupid masks, descending from the hills as if some strange procession was occurring. She knew many of those people. Knew of them, knew them personally, it didn't matter, she still knew them. She let her mind wander briefly to what Snape would do before deciding it didn't matter.

She felt everyone around her stiffen, Draco's hand went cold. She knew what they were seeing, knew that this was their final chance to destroy that thing. Suddenly she whispered, "I love you Draco, no matter what, I love you."

He stared down at her, fear etched into every millimeter of his face. Surely she wasn't telling him goodbye, surely she wasn't expecting to die. He couldn't live without her. Not now, not ever again.

Softly he whispered, "I'll tell you that when we both come out of this alive." She simply nodded back at him, squeezed his hand again, took a deep breath, and prepared to fall from his hand as they approached even nearer.

She was pushing her way through the crowd of people. They were losing, the Death Eaters winning tremendously. But she didn't know what was happening to the man she loved. Was he dead? Or had he defeated Voldemort?

"Ginny look out!" someone screamed and she whirled around. She saw a creepy old man, a wicked grin on his face, point his wand at her. Unable to do anything else, she ducked as the green came shooting out of his wand. She saw surprise in his face and knew he had hit one of his own. She shot off again into the throng of people, searching, desperate.

Hermione was fending off three Death Eaters when suddenly they dispersed. Looking around in shock, she was about to help a friend out when she heard a voice that curled her toes behind her.

"Mudblood, I hear unpleasant things about you and my son. How you've corrupted him. My, my, would you look at that. Here he comes now."

Deciding that he was simply trying to get her to turn around so he could kill her like the coward he was, she simply replied, "Filthy bastard, I didn't corrupt him, no one did. He made the choice to get rid of you, to have a better way of life." Her wand was poised, ready to defend herself when she saw him draw his own tightly to him.

She could feel her end coming, felt it all the way to her bones, as she saw the light stream towards her. Then she was shoved out of the way, hands wrapping around from behind her to push her out of the way, to take her place.

The scream was stuck in her throat as she saw Draco standing where she had been not a moment before. He was looking at her, shock written all over his face. All she could think was that he was dead, he was dead all because of her.

"Avada Kedavra!" she heard him shout as he aimed his wand at his father. Luscious Malfoy looked at his son, his astonishment palpable. The green light was slow to pass through the cold air around them. But then, something very strange happened.

As Draco turned to look at Hermione, the spell from his father almost at his chest, the locket around her neck tugged hard enough to break from behind her neck. It stopped right before the light, and they both watched as it absorbed the energy before beginning to shake. Draco simply threw his body over hers, not knowing what would happen, hoping that he could save her.

The ground beneath them shook and shook, sending many still standing crashing to their feet. And then the locket burst open, showering the people with this bright white light for only a second before it dropped, broken and dulled to the ground.

Harry was circling with him, again. Voldemort was talking, and talking. He just didn't want to shut up. The moment the ground beneath them started shaking, he had sent the first spell at Harry, not surprisingly, it was green. Missing him by a good foot as he fell to the ground, Harry sent his own spell back at Voldemort.

He didn't want to become a killer, a murderer, but he knew that was part of his destiny, part of what he was born to do. He liked to think that marrying Ginny, having a family with her, was the rest of his destiny. But he realized as another spell came flying at him, that he couldn't do that unless he killed this bastard in front of him.

As the ground finally became still, Harry knew, he _knew_, that everything was ready. That now that "fucker", as Brett put it, was finally able to die. Somehow, he had known that the locket hadn't been destroyed. But now it was. That was what the shaking had been about. Now there was only one piece left to destroy.

Gathering his strength, Harry sent another curse toward Voldemort, stepping forward as he did so. Effectively pushing Voldemort back wards. Further and further they danced, and he thought he saw a flash of fear in Voldemort's eyes before it was swallowed again by the blood that haunted them every other moment. Further and further they went until finally, he had no where else to go. They were at the end of wizard London , boundaries too distinct to slip through, and Voldemort was trapped.

When the curse fell from his lips again, his heart so filled with hate for the thing that stood before him, he wasn't surprised to see that excuse for a body crumple before him in a matter of moments.

For good measure, since killing him the first time didn't work, Harry shot another spell at him. Nothing happened. He came back into the crowds of battling people, seemingly none the wiser of Voldemort's final death.

Draco was still shielding her when the shaking stopped. He heard his father laugh, or what ever it was that he did. Standing them both up, he kept Hermione behind him as he faced his father.

"Draco, Draco, do really think that you could have saved her had it been anything worse? No, you don't. Why? Well, you have studied too much magic to know. You know you can't protect the mudblood for forever. I will kill her."

"Over my dead body Father, you won't lay a hand on her as long as I'm around." They watched his father shrug before he said, "Well, I'm flexible," and then the Death Curse escaped his mouth.

Draco pulled them both back down to the ground. His father expected him to fight, to pull his wand and try to incapacitate him. His father was dead wrong.

Pulling himself back to hid feet, Draco launched himself at his father, taking him completely by surprise. They fell to the ground, Draco instantly gaining leverage. While Luscius tried to get better control Draco was punching him over and over, again and again until his knuckles started to burn, to bleed. And the he hit his father harder and harder.

He stopped when he felt the man go limp beneath him. When he looked back at Hermione, it was to find her already in battle with others. Somehow, he saw Harry through all the crowds of people. Surprised, he froze in place. A Death Eater saw him and spit out a curse.

He barely dodged it, quickly turning to stop him. Then he jumped into the throng of Death Eaters surrounding Hermione. He didn't notice Harry weaving through the crowds anymore, didn't notice that there were hundreds of other people fighting; no all he saw was Death Eaters trying to kill Hermione. He couldn't let that happen.

He practically felt it when Harry joined them, mumbling curses and finally, they three took down the seven Death Eaters surrounding them. All the last one had managed to do was press his Dark Mark, causing every Death Eater in the battle to stop fighting.

They looked towards them, and seeing Harry, many dropped their wands and fell to their knees, others tried to hustle near him to kill him themselves. Draco figured most of those who had dropped to their knees had been threatened into working for Voldemort, and the few that wanted to, well, they were all going to Azkaban.

Few Death Eaters escaped that fateful day, most being completely stripped of their powers as they would have in the older days. The dementors were no longer guarding the prison, most in fact, isolated on another island far, far out to sea.

Those who had been threatened into working for Voldemort had been sentenced to the new Azkaban, the dementorless one. Many would be set free in a matter of decades simply because although forced, they had participated in Voldemort's reign of terror, without out being under the imperious curse.


	31. Whatever It Takes

"-So I just came here. I really didn't know what else to do. Brett, he's going to attack. I don't know where, or what time, but I'm telling you, he will attack today."

Brett studied him for a minute before he said, "You're sure? I mean, this hasn't happened at all the past few weeks? Not once?"  
"Nothing more than normal, it always twinges every now and then. Wait a minute, why?"

"Hmm, oh, well, he's been deciding it would be time to act then changing his mind the day before. Atleast, the past few weeks he has. He knows that we won't have time to build up our forces before then every time." There was another slight pause in his speech before he said, "It'll be in London . Wizarding London of course, not just Diagon Alley, actually not even close to Diagon Alley. And near the evening, yes, because his servants would have more advantages at night than we would. Yes, certainly. Harry, we have to tell McGonagall. Make sure everyone knows, that sort of thing. This is it. I pray to Merlin that this is last time that fucker walks the face of this planet. Actually, the last time he does anything anywhere, except maybe burn in hell. No, he would probably enjoy that. He can be chained up serving Merlin up there. Yes, that would be good, and all the people he hurt and killed, or ordered hurt or killed for that matter, can do to him what he did to them."

Harry raised his eyebrow at Hermione's father. Brett grinned sheepishly down at him, "I've had a lot of time to think about what should happen to him, usually I'm not that cruel, but it _is_ Voldemort. He deserves the worst he can get." Harry nodded gently before he said, "I'll go talk to Hermione and Draco, and the Weasleys."

They were standing row upon row upon row of people readying to fight. Draco was gripping Hermione's hand tightly, she squeezing back just as hard, her other hand wrapped around the locket draped around her neck. Her heart was pounding, faster and harder than it ever had before.

She let her eyes shift, watching all the people that surrounded them. Her parents were standing a few people down from them, in very nearly the same position. The only difference was that instead of her mother's hand being wrapped around a locket, it was resting gently on her stomach. After a moment, she realized why her mother's hand was resting just so. Her mother was pregnant. And she hadn't told anyone.

But she knew why. Her mother was protecting everyone just in case she died. Then they could simply mourn her, not their siblings.

Harry was standing to her left, breathing hard. He had insisted Ginny not be in front with them. He couldn't stand it if she died for him, if she died period. Ron stood next to him, head bent, as if realizing that this could be his final moment. As if he were accepting that it would be.

She wondered briefly if her father knew who would die. No, surely he couldn't. In battles people make split second decisions that either safe their lives, or cost them. That was when she heard it, when she saw it.

It sounded like thunder, only ten times louder than she had ever heard. It looked like fog, only ten times thicker than she had ever seen. There were dozens of giants, thousands of dementors and creatures she didn't remember the names of, and then there were the Death Eaters. Hundreds of men and women, faces covered with those stupid masks, descending from the hills as if some strange procession was occurring. She knew many of those people. Knew of them, knew them personally, it didn't matter, she still knew them. She let her mind wander briefly to what Snape would do before deciding it didn't matter.

She felt everyone around her stiffen, Draco's hand went cold. She knew what they were seeing, knew that this was their final chance to destroy that thing. Suddenly she whispered, "I love you Draco, no matter what, I love you."

He stared down at her, fear etched into every millimeter of his face. Surely she wasn't telling him goodbye, surely she wasn't expecting to die. He couldn't live without her. Not now, not ever again.

Softly he whispered, "I'll tell you that when we both come out of this alive." She simply nodded back at him, squeezed his hand again, took a deep breath, and prepared to fall from his hand as they approached even nearer.

She was pushing her way through the crowd of people. They were losing, the Death Eaters winning tremendously. But she didn't know what was happening to the man she loved. Was he dead? Or had he defeated Voldemort?

"Ginny look out!" someone screamed and she whirled around. She saw a creepy old man, a wicked grin on his face, point his wand at her. Unable to do anything else, she ducked as the green came shooting out of his wand. She saw surprise in his face and knew he had hit one of his own. She shot off again into the throng of people, searching, desperate.

Hermione was fending off three Death Eaters when suddenly they dispersed. Looking around in shock, she was about to help a friend out when she heard a voice that curled her toes behind her.

"Mudblood, I hear unpleasant things about you and my son. How you've corrupted him. My, my, would you look at that. Here he comes now."

Deciding that he was simply trying to get her to turn around so he could kill her like the coward he was, she simply replied, "Filthy bastard, I didn't corrupt him, no one did. He made the choice to get rid of you, to have a better way of life." Her wand was poised, ready to defend herself when she saw him draw his own tightly to him.

She could feel her end coming, felt it all the way to her bones, as she saw the light stream towards her. Then she was shoved out of the way, hands wrapping around from behind her to push her out of the way, to take her place.

The scream was stuck in her throat as she saw Draco standing where she had been not a moment before. He was looking at her, shock written all over his face. All she could think was that he was dead, he was dead all because of her.

"Avada Kedavra!" she heard him shout as he aimed his wand at his father. Luscious Malfoy looked at his son, his astonishment palpable. The green light was slow to pass through the cold air around them. But then, something very strange happened.

As Draco turned to look at Hermione, the spell from his father almost at his chest, the locket around her neck tugged hard enough to break from behind her neck. It stopped right before the light, and they both watched as it absorbed the energy before beginning to shake. Draco simply threw his body over hers, not knowing what would happen, hoping that he could save her.

The ground beneath them shook and shook, sending many still standing crashing to their feet. And then the locket burst open, showering the people with this bright white light for only a second before it dropped, broken and dulled to the ground.

Harry was circling with him, again. Voldemort was talking, and talking. He just didn't want to shut up. The moment the ground beneath them started shaking, he had sent the first spell at Harry, not surprisingly, it was green. Missing him by a good foot as he fell to the ground, Harry sent his own spell back at Voldemort.

He didn't want to become a killer, a murderer, but he knew that was part of his destiny, part of what he was born to do. He liked to think that marrying Ginny, having a family with her, was the rest of his destiny. But he realized as another spell came flying at him, that he couldn't do that unless he killed this bastard in front of him.

As the ground finally became still, Harry knew, he _knew_, that everything was ready. That now that "fucker", as Brett put it, was finally able to die. Somehow, he had known that the locket hadn't been destroyed. But now it was. That was what the shaking had been about. Now there was only one piece left to destroy.

Gathering his strength, Harry sent another curse toward Voldemort, stepping forward as he did so. Effectively pushing Voldemort back wards. Further and further they danced, and he thought he saw a flash of fear in Voldemort's eyes before it was swallowed again by the blood that haunted them every other moment. Further and further they went until finally, he had no where else to go. They were at the end of wizard London , boundaries too distinct to slip through, and Voldemort was trapped.

When the curse fell from his lips again, his heart so filled with hate for the thing that stood before him, he wasn't surprised to see that excuse for a body crumple before him in a matter of moments.

For good measure, since killing him the first time didn't work, Harry shot another spell at him. Nothing happened. He came back into the crowds of battling people, seemingly none the wiser of Voldemort's final death.

Draco was still shielding her when the shaking stopped. He heard his father laugh, or what ever it was that he did. Standing them both up, he kept Hermione behind him as he faced his father.

"Draco, Draco, do really think that you could have saved her had it been anything worse? No, you don't. Why? Well, you have studied too much magic to know. You know you can't protect the mudblood for forever. I will kill her."

"Over my dead body Father, you won't lay a hand on her as long as I'm around." They watched his father shrug before he said, "Well, I'm flexible," and then the Death Curse escaped his mouth.

Draco pulled them both back down to the ground. His father expected him to fight, to pull his wand and try to incapacitate him. His father was dead wrong.

Pulling himself back to hid feet, Draco launched himself at his father, taking him completely by surprise. They fell to the ground, Draco instantly gaining leverage. While Luscius tried to get better control Draco was punching him over and over, again and again until his knuckles started to burn, to bleed. And the he hit his father harder and harder.

He stopped when he felt the man go limp beneath him. When he looked back at Hermione, it was to find her already in battle with others. Somehow, he saw Harry through all the crowds of people. Surprised, he froze in place. A Death Eater saw him and spit out a curse.

He barely dodged it, quickly turning to stop him. Then he jumped into the throng of Death Eaters surrounding Hermione. He didn't notice Harry weaving through the crowds anymore, didn't notice that there were hundreds of other people fighting; no all he saw was Death Eaters trying to kill Hermione. He couldn't let that happen.

He practically felt it when Harry joined them, mumbling curses and finally, they three took down the seven Death Eaters surrounding them. All the last one had managed to do was press his Dark Mark, causing every Death Eater in the battle to stop fighting.

They looked towards them, and seeing Harry, many dropped their wands and fell to their knees, others tried to hustle near him to kill him themselves. Draco figured most of those who had dropped to their knees had been threatened into working for Voldemort, and the few that wanted to, well, they were all going to Azkaban.

Few Death Eaters escaped that fateful day, most being completely stripped of their powers as they would have in the older days. The dementors were no longer guarding the prison, most in fact, isolated on another island far, far out to sea.

Those who had been threatened into working for Voldemort had been sentenced to the new Azkaban, the dementorless one. Many would be set free in a matter of decades simply because although forced, they had participated in Voldemort's reign of terror, without out being under the imperious curse.


	32. In The End

Draco was standing, silent, staring out across the ocean. Hermione came up behind him, wrapping her arm around his waist. He smiled down at her as he wrapped his own arm around her back.

"This was a wonderful idea, Granger."  
"You know, you really should stop calling me that Draco. I haven't been a Granger for five years." He laughed and pulled her closer to him.

"I know, but I like calling you Granger, love, I really do." she sighed as she turned into him. He tried to lace his fingers behind her but was unable to do to her large belly.

"Triplets, I still can't believe we're having triplets."

"You can't believe it? I'm the one who actually has to give birth to them! But, maybe next time we'll have quadruplets. I mean we have our oldest, then the twins, and now the triplets, who's to say we aren't simply counting up and up?"  
"Well, my dear, your dad might. But he's probably too busy with the five of them now isn't he?"

Hermione laughed as she thought of her parents. Her mother had had two more sets of twins, one identical set of boys, another fraternal boy/girl set, and then another boy. Brett was always busy, teaching and playing with the boys and poor Kali, their girl, was always trying to roughhouse with them, even though she was only two years old.

She remembered Molly asking when they were going to stop having children and Josi had simply shrugged, "Oh I don't know; he's always wanted a lot. I used to tell him I would deal with three maybe four. But when he broke the memory spell, I realized that life is too precious. And I do love him so much, so why not? The only thing I really don't like is having to clean up after them. But isn't that beauty of magic?" and she had given everyone that gorgeous smile of hers that made you want to agree with everything she that came out of her mouth.

Brett had laughed and said, "That's why she always gets her way," then he pointed to her lips, "That right there." And then Dustin had come running up to him screaming, "Daddy, daddy, watch!" he climbed onto Brett's lap, a big smile on his face, and threw a paper plane across the room.

Hermione realized how good her father was with children and felt a pang at the fact that she hadn't gotten to grow up with him. Then she had hated herself, Bryan had been a most wonderful father. However, he had only stayed after the war to walk her down the aisle. He hadn't been seen since. Sure, he sent letters, but they never saw him.

Hermione looked behind them and watched her three year old boy Jason trying to help his little sisters walk on the sand. Josi was standing behind them smiling, Kali on her hip. Brett was out in the water with his other kids, as well as Harry and Ginny's three year old girl Angela. Harry and Ginny were setting up the picnic they were having later. Ron was swimming out into the ocean with Fred, George, and their wives. The two had finally settled down about a year ago, marrying girls they had met while traveling in America .

And Ron, well, who knew when he would find a woman for him. it was obvious that he still had feelings for Hermione, but he also, finally, accepted that there was no way he would ever have her. No way that she would ever leave her husband, especially for him.

He saw how much Draco loved her, how much she loved him back, and there was no way he was going to try and break them up again. He wanted what they had with someone, what Harry and Ginny had, what their parents had.

Everyone had learned the truth soon after the war. Bloody, bruised, and very nearly broken, Josi and Brett had found Harry alive and rejoiced the moment they saw him. Brett's face had become utter joy, Josi had simply thrown her arms around her boy and whispered over and over, "Thank Merlin you're ok. Thank Merlin my boy's ok."

Harry had hugged her back, confusion written all over his sweaty and sanguine face. And then it had all spilled forth. Brett's words were shaky, Harry very nearly collapsed from the shock.

But in the end, he accepted the truth of himself. Brett had explained everything to him, to all of them again. Hermione and Ginny had sat on either side of him, there to support him. Draco had simply stared at his fiancé, remembering when he had told her her own truth, when Brett had given into her story, and then when they had called Brett out on Harry's story, when they had gotten that truth.

Sitting at the beach, surrounded by her family, Hermione couldn't help but be grateful. No one in her close, personal, family had died. Sure, there were many of the casualties that she knew, and yes she missed them greatly, but her family was still all here. She would try not to think of Neville, of Luna, of the Patil twins, of Remus, of McGonagall, of all the others that held a spot in her heart, but rather she would think of all those who had deserved the price they had paid. Voldemort, for one, Bellatrix had killed herself upon learning of her master's defeat, her husband following soon there after, Luscius Malfoy, Blaise Zambini, Theodore Knott, and so many others.

Time passed, yes I admit, much time has passed. Never once have I regretted my life spent. Not one moment, especially after Draco had come into my heart, did I regret. I see my siblings and my children when they come home on breaks now, well, not all. Dustin and Alec had graduated the year before, and were now out working. Both spend much time away from England because of their jobs. I wish I could see them more, as I much imagine Mum and Brett do.

Yes, I do still call my father Brett; dad just never seemed to work. I tried it a few times and not once did he respond. I haven't seen Bryan in years, but he has visited a few times since the end of the war and I do get letters. Apparently he found a woman now, with whom he is very much in love, and I'm hopeful to be hearing wedding bells for them in the near future.

There will be much more in our lives, much more that will challenge everything in this life that we have created, but I can say, for now, that we will be happy for many years to come. I hope and pray that I will find a happily ever after, but I do believe that can only be achieved once a person has died and their companion of life has joined them. Only then can there be an ever after, for only there is life eternal.

-Hermione Malfoy


End file.
